Cheated
by FlyOnTheWall14
Summary: Arendelle's citizens looked to the sky as the snow fell. Anna sobbed, she felt robbed. No-one had ever meant so much to her and it was all his fault. That poor excuse of a man had taken something she held dear and there was nothing she could do about it. As evening blackened the sky, through the castle was heard a poor baby's cry. T/W mentioned inside.
1. I Will Always Be Here

**A/N: Hey, I know I already have a story in progress but this idea just won't leave me alone.**

 **Edit: I am going through this story and just touching up a few details, mostly just grammar and punctuation. Adding a little extra dialogue and description in some places too. This is because when I began writing this fiction I was younger and less experienced as an author and, having read through my work again recently, I was very displeased with my efforts and decided it needed a little cleaning up.**

* * *

 ***/\\-_Chapter 1_-** **/\\***

The sun was slowly fading and just over the horizon a carriage could be seen, journeying toward the Arendellian castle. Queen Elsa, Princess Anna and Master Kristoff were seated inside having returned from a trip to Urvea, a neighbouring kingdom. Anna would rather not have gone, as would Kristoff, but the invitation specifically said that the king and queen wished to meet them too.

"I'm so glad that we're home, Urvea is so boring." Anna groaned, laying her head on Kristoff's shoulder. He laughed in agreement. The warmth of the copper-haired princess' head n his shoulder formed a smile on his lips.

"It wasn't that bad. At least we set up a trade that benefits us both." Elsa said in a half-hearted attempt at defending them. Though the trade of parchment and crops was hardly anything exciting.

"They wanted you though. They wanted a weapon of mass destruction." Kristoff said with a frown. "It's disgusting, to ask you to use your powers to hurt people." The platinum blonde had a small, sad smile on her lips. If all they saw her as was a weapon then how did other people see her? A monster? She didn't want to hurt people, innocent people. Urvea had requested her help in overtaking the Southern Isles. Assuming, that due to the rather perilous situation she and Anna had found themselves in by their prince's hands, she and her sister would have readily taken up arms beside them in a bid to destroy the southern kingdom. But Elsa herself was not bitter; Hans had received his punishment in the form of imprisonment and mandatory manual labour, his father had assured her in a letter that his son was being dealt with appropriately and profusely apologised for his horrendous behaviour.

"Please don't mention it ever again." Anna said. "Let's just agree to never go back." The trip had been fun at first. Anna loved the idea of visiting new places but all the king and queen really seemed interested in was Elsa's powers; Anna loved her sister's powers, they were beautiful, but her enjoyment of the subject quickly waned, as did Elsa's. Elsa thought it would have been a worthwhile meeting as Urvea had quite a large army and more allies was always good but, as the king and queen viewed her only as a weapon, she told them she wasn't interested in using her abilities to hurt people.

It was silent for a few minutes before the carriage pulled to a stop and Arendelle's people could be heard waiting to welcome the royals home. The three stepped out of the carriage, greeted the waiting citizens and then entered the castle, glad to be home. The cooks immediately got to work on dinner and Sven and Olaf scrambled to greet their friends, with a cheery chirp the snowman welcomed them back:

"Hi guys!"

* * *

Night engulfed the castle and blackened the kingdom. Anna and Kristoff were already asleep in their chambers. Elsa stood in the courtyard, enjoying the silence of the night and the comfort the stars brought her. She spotted a dim flame flickering at the end of the path; trying to figure out who the silhouetted person was by the stables, she called out:

"Hello? Who is that?" She prepared herself for any unwanted guests.

"I'm sorry to have scared you your majesty, it won't happen again." The shadow called back in a deep, calming tenor.

"Tomas, haven't you got a family to be getting home to?" Elsa chuckled to the horse-keeper.

"I thought I'd keep an eye on the horses tonight, it's going to be a blustery one I hear." She entered the stables and Tomas was a shadow no more, he had a lopsided smile on his face, his green eyes glowing in the dim light, framed by short ebony locks. He wore a tunic much like Kristoff's, if he were sleeping in the stables tonight he would need it. He wore beige trousers tucked into calf-length riding boots as he had taken the horses out for some exercise that afternoon. Elsa felt a smile tug at her lips,

"Your family would be much more glad of your company would they not?" She asked, finding it rather odd that he would choose to spend his evening in a chilly stable full of less than pleasant smelling horses rather than at home with his wife and children.

"Perhaps... but I still think it best I spend the evening here. What with all the racket, I wouldn't want to risk them getting distressed..." He replied, referring to the brisk winds that had been blowing all afternoon and would continue to howl all night.

"Alright then, if you think that is what's best." She turned and made to leave before adding "Goodnight Tomas." over her shoulder.

"Goodnight your Majesty." Tomas replied, his eyes dazedly fixed upon the retreating queen.

* * *

Kristoff stirred in bed. He opened his eyes and sat up with a sudden jolt of fright; Anna awoke instantly.

"Kristoff, what's wrong?" She asked, worry etched into her features.

"Go back to sleep Anna." Kristoff said, "It's just those night terrors again, nothing for you to worry about."

"This is getting out of hand. That's the fifth night this week this has happened. You have to tell me what's wrong. What are they about?" She said, concern lacing her words and worry etched into her delicate features.

"I keep having weird dreams, night terrors... whatever you want to call them, they're so real and it's scary- like a vision. It's about...it's about you." Kristoff replied, running a hand through his sweaty blonde mop.

"Me?" Anna asked in confusion, raising a brow.

"Every night, it's the same dream. Hans comes back, he gets revenge for not marrying him, he kills you... he kills Elsa. Then he takes over Arendelle and there's nothing I can do about it." He explained, the sweat dripped off his face, down his neck and onto his rugged chest. Nothing scared him more than losing his lovely fiancée or his newly acquired family, that being just Elsa and maybe you could include Olaf.

"Oh Kristoff don't be so worried. Hans is in prison for attempted regicide and he will _never_ get out; his father made that quite clear. You should try and get back to sleep silly, I'm still here... I'll always be here." Anna smiled gently before placing her head back on her pillow. Kristoff sat up for a minute, thoughts rushing round his head, bouncing off the thick walls of his skull. Then finally, when he lay back down, he rested his hand on Anna's, who had managed to fall asleep in three seconds flat.

"I promise that nothing will hurt you for as long as I live because nothing is stronger than my love for you, I'll protect you Anna; I'll always be here too."

* * *

Just a few short hours later the queen rose with the morning sun to prepare herself for the likely arduous day ahead. Elsa graciously made her way to the window and pulled open the curtains, allowing the early morning sunlight to ignite the room with it's golden glow, setting the entire room ablaze. She spotted Tomas emerging from the stables quite a distance away, he stretched then sat on a pile of logs to clean his boots, his black hair hanging over dark green eyes. The platinum blonde knew her infatuation with the horse-keeper was bad news. He was happily married with two kids. She was a queen with a thousand and one responsibilities and he was a commoner with a family to feed, could it ever work?

 _No_ , she thought, _what a ridiculous notion._ But that didn't mean they couldn't be friends...right?

* * *

Tomas noticed the platinum blonde hair of the queen coming down the path, he gave a shy wave and a crooked smile. Elsa made her way toward the lonely looking horse-keeper with a cup of tea in hand.

"Good morning your Majesty, enjoying your first tea of the day, I see." Tomas said as he greeted the queen, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the blonde haired beauty.

"Actually this is for you, I thought because you had been watching the horses all night you might appreciate a hot drink. I thought I would treat you. None of the staff are about yet so I made it myself."

"Thank you, you shouldn't have." Tomas replied with a smile, accepting the cup and saucer gracefully. "It's not your duty." He added.

"You're my staff, it _is_ my duty to make sure you are safe and looked after." Elsa gave him a stern look, she liked to make sure all of her staff were well looked after. She cast him a smile before turning and walking back to the castle. "Enjoy your tea Tomas." She called back. He watched her go, his eyes hungry and his mind wandering to a far away place.


	2. Garden Walks and Icy Talks

****A/N: Hope you liked the last chapter, I appreciate everyone that has read it so far. Reviews are also appreciated so feel free to drop one in if you have something to say guys ;P.****

 ** **!I DO NOT OWN FROZEN!****

 ** **Edit:**** **I am going through this story and just touching up a few details, mostly just grammar and punctuation. Adding a little extra dialogue and description in some places too. This is because when I began writing this fiction I was younger and less experienced as an author and, having read through my work again recently, I was very displeased with my efforts and decided it needed a little cleaning up.**

* * *

 ***/\/\\-_-_Chapter 2_-_-** **/\/\\***

"Anna, I'd better get going now. I'll probably have a hard time selling today, you know, since it's winter." Kristoff told the princess. "I won't be back until late."

"Okay, Elsa and I are going to finish going over the wedding plans, stay safe." Anna beamed as she kissed him on the cheek. Kristoff walked out the door and jumped into his sled, ruffling Sven's fur as he passed to which the reindeer replied with a satisfied snort.

"Go Sven!" He shouted to his reindeer companion. He called his farewell over his shoulder. Anna stood there and waved until he was out of sight.

* * *

The two sisters sat discussing how the dress would look but Anna knew something was bothering the elder.

"Anna, can I talk to you about something?" Elsa asked, glancing nervously at her copper-haired sister.

"Sure. What is it?" Anna replied, smiling up at her elder.

"I'm so pleased that you and Kristoff are getting married. I'm really happy for you but are you sure you're ready ?"

Anna grinned for a moment before replying:

"Yes. Yes, I'm certain that I'm ready and Kristoff is too. It's probably gonna take some getting used to but we'll be fine. I'm so happy. You've been such a big help, I couldn't have done all this by myself. Honestly...I thought you'd be disappointed."

"Disappointed?" Elsa asked with a confused raise of the eyebrow.

"Yeah, you know, for getting married before you."

"That's my choice. It's not your fault." Elsa said with a shake of her head.

"I wouldn't be able to cope without you. So, in a way, I'm kinda glad that you're not married. I can't have a man taking my sister from me. I need you." Muttered the redhead sadly.

"Oh, Anna, I need you too." Elsa said, pulling her in for a hug, "I'll always be here for you." At that moment a light flurry began to flutter down from the ceiling.

"Even if some dashing man does manage to sweep you off your feet?" Anna asked with a teasing smile.

"That's a very big 'if'... but yes, even then."

* * *

The midday sun hung over the kingdom; it wasn't hot enough to melt the winter snow but certainly enough to make the stables hot. The heat from the forge made the stables a sweltering prison, Tomas was working away, crafting horse shoes for Torden. He pulled his heavy sweater over his head then threw it on the stool a few feet away.

Unbeknownst to him the queen had been standing by the stable entrance, observing the farrier at work. Though she would never admit it, not even to herself, she was also admiring his form. He was hammering the shoe into shape when he hit his finger, he yelped and dropped the hammer to the floor. He heard a feminine laugh behind him and turned to see her Majesty watching him with intense eyes.

"Good afternoon, your Majesty, I...umm I meant to do that." He said with cherry cheeks.

"Of course you did." She teased with cheeks just as red. Tomas chuckled and said:

"Should you not be performing queenly duties rather than laughing at me?"

"I've nothing left do for today, meaning I can laugh at you for as long as I wish." A smirk on pale lips made Tomas' face burn brighter.

"Why don't you take a break, you look tired?" She replied; he had bags under his eyes and he looked worn out.

"Why stop working when all that will accompany me is silence?" He said sorrowfully.

"Well, I could stay for a while." Elsa offered. She noticed a flicker of a smile appear on his face. "A walk around the gardens?"

"Only if you have time your Majesty, I would not wish to be a nuisance." He replied, silently hoping she did have time.

"Of course." Elsa said happily. To her surprise Tomas bowed before her then offered his arm.

"Your Majesty." He said courteously.

The two young adults begin walking down the garden path and through the castle grounds.

"How is Princess Anna? I know it's not really any of my business but one can't help feel curious when a royal is being wed." Tomas asked awkwardly glancing at the queen. Elsa smiled kindly before replying:

"Princess Anna is fine, thank you. She's excited to be wed to Master Kristoff, she's lucky to have found someone so caring, he's a very nice man. Though as it draws nearer she seems anxious."

"Wedding jitters are the worst. I remember at my own I was so nervous I almost forgot the ring." Tomas explained. "What about you? Do you plan on getting married anytime soon?" He asked.

"Oh, I don't feel quite ready to be with someone at the moment. I'm not exactly the best choice for a wife. My advisors think I should marry so Arendelle will have an heir but if I were to pass my curse on to my child I would never forgive myself." She replied. "Apart from that, I'm sure there is no sane man that would marry me anyway." Elsa added with a snort.

"I think you would make a wonderful wife, what you have is not a curse, not at all. It's a wonderful gift, it's beautiful. Your beauty is surpassed by none...umm- except my wife of course." The farrier said, trying no to gaze into her enticing cerulean eyes for too long, lest he arouse her suspicion. "Any man would be lucky to have you."

"Thank you Tomas." Elsa replied with a red tinge to her cheeks.

Tomas then showed her where the new horse for Master Kristoff would be staying when it arrived. There was some odd tradition that demanded every man in the Arendellian Royal family must have his own steed. Despite thinking it was unnecessary and Kristoff protesting to her that he was fine with Sven, Elsa had decided to go ahead with it. Breaking tradition was just asking for trouble and she was sure Sivertsen would have had a breakdown had she not followed through with it. The old coot was very stuck in his ways, the old ways. He grated her nerves but he was the eldest member of her council and his experience had proved invaluable on more than one occasion.

"Are you sure there is enough room in here for Master Kristoff's horse?" Elsa asked.

"Of course, the new stall over there has been made specifically for the new stallion." Tomas explained with a grin on his face. Elsa loved how excited talking about the horses made Tomas, his eyes lit up and he smiled more, it was quite endearing.

Elsa then realised she needed to back at the castle for a meeting with her councillors soon.

"I apologise Tomas but I have a meeting at four o'clock and I mustn't be late."

"Oh- oh of course...I-I'm sorry to have kept you, your Majesty." He stammered with red cheeks; he hadn't realized how long he and the queen had been talking. He had just been so lost in the euphoria her company gave him

"It's nothing to worry about. Thank you Tomas, it's been lovely talking to you...and by the way...you know you don't have to call me 'your Majesty' all the time." Elsa replied. Tomas frowned, clearly confused.

"Well then...what...what would I call you?" He asked.

"I have a name don't I?" She chuckled. "Goodbye Tomas, have a good evening." She added as she exited the stables.

"Bye y- Elsa." Tomas called back awkwardly. Her was not foreign on his lips but it felt so odd to be addressing his queen by name rather than title, there was quite a thrill to it as if he were special to her.

Then that was it, left on his own once more. He longed for her to stay. He wanted her to carry on talking to him so he could sit and listen to the calming melody of her voice. He wanted to hold her hand and have her stay with him forever. Tomas sighed a deep, sad sigh and blew a stray black hair from in front of his eyes. He was sad to see her go, he hated being alone. It reminded him of how his father left after a row with his mother. From then on he would stay at home while his mother worked, he wasn't allowed to leave the house, it was incredibly lonely. It made him remember how he hated his mother for leaving him and how he hated his father for walking out. He tried to be a good father to his boys, Oskar and Oliver and a good husband to his wife but his growing feelings for his monarch were getting stronger. He knew that if he wanted to he could walk away from his job and never see Elsa again but he just couldn't bring himself to go. He wanted her and he was so sure that she wanted him too...

* * *

The moon had long dominated the night sky and Anna was in the sitting room, fire blazing, slowly pacing up and down the varnished wooden floor. Kristoff had gone to bed hours ago, as had Elsa, surprisingly. This wedding was making the princess so nervous and so excited at the same time, she loved Kristoff so very much. She loved everything he had done for her and she was delighted when he asked her to marry him and even more so when Elsa gave them her blessing. Anna knew this was what she had always wanted, a husband that loved her, a sister that loved her, what more could she ask for? However her past 'engagement' to Hans had left her with many doubts. Even though she knew that not a single speck of Kristoff's soul or being was like that of the cocky Southern prince, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong. The princess sighed and stared into the flickering flames of the fire, trying to ease the anxiety that pounded in her fragile chest. It wasn't good for her to stress over things.

* * *

The afternoon bluster began to blow leaves around the castle grounds, Anna thought a visit to the stables would calm her nerves, wedding jitters had kept her up most of the night and she was exhausted. The wind picked up and nearly blew the poor princess off her feet. Anna reached the old barn house and entered. Curious, the horses looked around to see who was entering, they all greeted Anna with a high pitched whinny. The youngest horse, a young foal came over and rested its head on Anna's lap.

"Hello there little one, I thought coming to see you would cheer me up a little bit and it already has." Anna laughed, "You've all grown so big now." With a gentle hand she stroked behind it's ear and it then nuzzled into her side with a satisfied nicker.

"Who's there? How dar- oh, your Highness, hello." Tomas called. The princess looked up from the foal to see the horse keeper standing in the entrance.

"Hello Tomas. " The princess said shortly, Tomas was not one of her favourite people. He made her feel uncomfortable for some reason, perhaps it was his intense eyes or his cocky smile or the fact that she had become so weary of confident men since Hans had broken her heart.

"I'm well, how are you feeling your Highness?" He asked. The princess shrugged in a very unladylike manor and said:

"I suppose I'm just a little anxious. I mean... Kristoff and I are getting married and... I'm nervous."

"Don't worry, Kristoff is a good man, he is deserving of your hand. Anyone can see that you make him very happy." He said with a somewhat comforting smile.

"Thank you, Tomas." Anna replied but she didn't let her guard down, something about Tomas didn't seem right, he still gave her the creeps.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading guys and I hope you're liking it so far. I promise it gets more interesting, just bear with me.**

 **\- Fly :)**


	3. Someday My Prin- Reindeer King Will Come

**A/N: Hey, new chappie, hope you're liking the story so far, drop a review if you've anything to say guys.**

 **!I DON'T OWN FROZEN!**

 **Edit: I am going through this story and just touching up a few details, mostly just grammar and punctuation. Adding a little extra dialogue and description in some places too. This is because when I began writing this fiction I was younger and less experienced as an author and, having read through my work again recently, I was very displeased with my efforts and decided it needed a little cleaning up.**

* * *

* **/\/\/\** -_-_-_ _ **Chapter**_ _ **3**_ _-_-_- **/\/\/\** *

It was finally here! Her wedding day, here at last! Anna was ecstatic, her nervous heart hammering away in her chest. She knew that everyone would be making the final preparations and that Elsa would return soon to help her get ready and tell her everything was going to be perfect. And Anna would smile and she would hug her and she would tell her how absolutely, unbelievably excited she was and, hopefully, not cry.

* * *

Elsa had gone to the stables to check that Sven was prepared to pull Anna's carriage to the church. Despite a horse being the usual method of drawing a carriage, the bride and groom had opted for the reindeer as he was so important to them. It was him after all that raced Kristoff across the frozen fjord in an attempt to return him to his true love. Elsa entered the stable and called out:

"Tomas?"

"Hello, your Majesty." Came Tomas' cheery reply. "Have you come to check on Sven?"

"Yes, is he ready?" She asked.

"Certainly, I've cleaned him and securely fitted his harness. I'm not used to working with reindeer but I think I've managed. Sven was very well behaved, better than some of the horses. I'd say he looks rather dashing." Tomas chuckled. Sven seemed to smile and snorted in agreement.

Elsa stroked the reindeer's soft fur with a smile as he nuzzled into her palm.

"Thank you, since Sven is ready, I had best get back to Anna." Elsa said as she turned to leave. Upon turning her foot caught on Sven's old harness and she fell forward. She closed her eyes and braced for impact. Nothing. She opened her eyes and was met with a pair of stunning emerald orbs. She and Tomas were centimetres away from each other. Her hands rested on his broad shoulders. Elsa had never been this close to a man before, it sent shivers down her spine, her cheeks burned as his eyes stared into her own. She found herself oddly attracted to the slight smell of sweat on his skin, the dusting of stubble on his chin. His scent filled her and she found her head swimming, their proximity absolutely dizzying for the blushing blonde.

Tomas had just reacted, reaching out to stop her and now the queen was in his arms, staring into his stunning emerald eyes and he was staring back. Her eyes were amazing, brilliant blue, like the ice. He felt his heart rate quicken and his cheeks burn. Was he really this close to the queen of Arendelle? Were his lips literally just centimetres away from hers? He had waited so long for his opportunity to tell her, now would be the perfect time. Words failed him, so he leaned forward. As did Elsa. She didn't really know what she was doing but her body told her she wanted this, the thumping of her heart in her chest said she should do it. She had felt an attraction to Tomas for a while now, not long after he came to work at the castle after the Great Thaw.

As their lips met in a passionate embrace, melded together in the heat of their desire, Elsa felt Tomas' hands move to her hips and she liked it, more than she cared to admit. Her heart was beating like a drum; she could no longer hear her own thoughts and her brain felt like it had melted away. Tomas felt Elsa's hands move to his chest, he thought she was going to push him away so he pulled her closer so that her body was pressed flush against his and a soft whimper escaped her. Tomas had waited too long for this and he wasn't going to let her pull away, not yet. But, as his tongue flickered across her lip, the queen came to her senses and pushed him away, a confused horror on her face. Oh, Gods. What had she done?

Her mouth failed to form words and so she just stared in shock at the horse-keeper. He stared too until Elsa turned to leave in a hurry.

"Elsa! Wait, I'm sorry." She didn't even turn to face him.

"You can't mention that to anyone." She said, anger in her voice, at him or herself Tomas didn't know.

"I won't I promise, it'll stay between us. It'll be our little secret." He said, his voice taking on a more sinister tone. Elsa frowned at him, a warning, she had a short temper and if he mentioned that kiss to a single soul she could lose the respect of the entire kingdom and he would be sorry.

"Goodbye Tomas."She said flatly. She turned and walked out of the stables, Tomas watched her leave, the way her hips swayed almost made him drool. She had kissed him! Oh, how he had dreamed of doing that forever, her lips were so soft, like silk and her hips felt just right in his hands. The feeling of her body pressed against his made him so warm. He gazed longingly after her. He needed more.

He was broken from his stupor when the reindeer to his left huffed angrily and kicked the harness across the floor. Tomas was sure the beast was scowling at him, a growl rumbling in it's chest.

* * *

As the birds tweeted their jolly tunes, trumpets and tubas bellowed from the Kingdom church as crowds started gathering in the courtyards awaiting the arrival of Princess Anna and Master Kristoff. Anna and Elsa were in her room getting ready for the big day. Elsa hadn't told Anna what happened in the stables for fear of complete embarrassment at the fact that she had allowed herself to act like such a teenager.

"Oh Elsa, I can't believe it's finally here. I'm getting married...today!"

"Anna you need to get your dress on." Elsa said, "We're running out of time." Anna pulled on her elegant ivory dress, complete with a matching veil and train.

Elsa laced up the corset and stood back to admire the dress.

"Wait, just one thing missing." She said and searched in the drawers of her vanity. After a moment she revealed a delicately detailed, emerald brooch. "It belonged to Mother. She always said she would love for you to wear it on your special day." Despite her icy affliction and isolation, Elsa was sure her mother still dreamed that her eldest daughter might find a prince someday too. Although it was a subject they had seldom discussed, at least someone had hope.

"She would be so proud of you, all grown up, falling in love and getting married." Elsa smiled, "You look beautiful." Anna smiled at her sister and let out a nervous giggle. Elsa smiled at how much she had grown up, no longer the troublesome knee-high, freckled menace she once was. Anna looked truly stunning in her dress, Kristoff was a very lucky man indeed.

"Bet you're jealous." Anna sniggered. Elsa raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Jealous of what, exactly?" She asked as she fastened the intricately designed brooch onto the front of her sister's gorgeous white dress.

"I'm getting married before you." Anna teased. Elsa chuckled and shook her head. Maybe she hadn't grown up _that_ much.

* * *

Guests started piling into the church; kings, queens, princes and princesses, dukes, duchess', lords and ladies from all over Europe were there. They were eagerly awaiting Princess Anna's and Master Kristoff's arrival.

Kristoff checked his appearance in the mirror. He was wearing a rather dashing white shirt and royal green dress robes with a silver cravat tucked neatly into his collar.

"Kristoff, you can do this. It's just Anna." He said. However, it wasn't just Anna. It was the woman he loved more than anything. The woman that changed his life, she came crashing into his life- literally and she changed him in a way for which he was grateful. He knew he was lucky to have Anna, he loved her with all his heart, with all his soul and his entire being. He knew she was the one for him, he had never felt such a deep love for anything or anyone before.

There was a polite knock at the door.

"Are you ready Master Kristoff? Your carriage awaits." Said Gerda, hiding her eyes behind her hand in case he was indecent.

"Yes, thank you Gerda." Kristoff said as he made his way to the castle doors, giving the handmaid a small smile on his way past. She bowed her head respectfully with a smile of her own.

Anna peeped out of the door, looking nervous.

"Princess Anna, Master Kristoff has left and is awaiting your arrival at the Cathedral." Gerda said, coming around the corner, trying to suppress her proud grin.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Anna sighed, stepping into the hallway in her dress, quickly followed by Elsa. Gerda stopped and stared for a few seconds before tears began to roll gently down her cheeks.

"Oh, Anna. You look so much like your mother." Gerda sobbed, tears of joy cascading down her face.

"Master Sven has arrived to pull your carriage." Captain Bjorn said, smiling at the princess in her wedding dress. He knew she had dreamed of this day since she was young. She always told him about how one day a prince was going to come and sweep her off her feet, so sure that one day she would fall in love and marry her handsome prince. Anna stepped outside only see Sven in royal green straps pulling her carriage. With a nervous smile she got in.

* * *

The carriage ride seemed to take so long, she was excited- ecstatic even and nervous and scared all rolled into one big bursting emotion.

As Anna's carriage pulled up to the church, hundreds of people lined the pathways anxiously waiting to see the princess and the queen. The driver hopped down off his seat and opened the door, allowing Elsa and Anna to emerge gracefully.

"Elsa, look!" Anna gasped with a shocked expression on her face. Elsa looking in the direction that her sister had nodded and was surprised at whom she saw.

"Hello there Elsa." Said a familiar voice from the top of the steps, "Or should I say, Queen Elsa."

"Rapunzel, it's so nice to see you could make it. Actually it's just nice to see you came back after the coronation disaster." Elsa replied with a nervous chuckle.

"Well, I couldn't just miss my baby cousin's wedding could I?" Rapunzel replied, grinning at the sister's.

Rapunzel smiled and then made her way into the grand Arendelle cathedral, joining her husband who had already taken a seat inside.

Murmurs and whispers could be heard echoing around the room. Kristoff turned to the side to see Grand Pabbie and the the other trolls standing there. They smiled and waved excitedly, he smiled back awkwardly, ignoring the way some of the other guests looked at his family.

"All rise." The Priest ordered. The entire room stood up to watch the princess make her way down the aisle.

"Anna, are you sure you want me to give you away?" Elsa asked nervously before the ceremony began.

"Yes! You're my sister Elsa, of course I want it to be you. You're my best friend and I wouldn't have this day any other way. Besides, it's a little late to be having second thoughts don't you think?" Anna said with a smile. Elsa returned it then offered her arm as the large cathedral doors opened before them.

* * *

Kristoff turned nervously, seeing his bride standing in the door way made him blush and filled him with joy. Anna smiled back. The music began as Anna began to walk down the aisle, each step bringing her closer to her husband-to-be. Kristoff's heart and mind were racing.

 _Wow, she looks beautiful_. Anna was beautiful all the time but...wow.

Anna came to the end of the aisle and took Kristoff's hands as Elsa took her seat. Anna was so nervous but had so far managed not to make a fool of herself, she was sure she would've tripped on her dress on her way down the aisle. Maybe everything would be great and she wouldn't embarrass herself as she had feared.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of our Gods and in the face of this company to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony..." The Priest began. The guests sat, in awe of the princess' beauty as the Priest continued. Elsa held back tears of joy as she watched her baby sister get married.

The Priest seemed to prattle on for an eternity but, before she knew it, Anna heard him say the words she had been looking forward to most.

"You may now kiss the bride." The Priest said.

Kristoff smiled at Anna, warm brown eyes met soft blue as he leaned forward and joined their lips in a sweet kiss. An eruption of applause came from the crowd and Anna, with a grin, looked over to see Elsa wiping away a single tear.

* * *

 **A/N: Aww, happy times, hope you like that chapter, leave a review, what am I doing right/wrong, ideas or notify me of any mistakes (grammar, spelling etc..)**

 **-Fly ;p**


	4. I'll Keep You My Dirty Little Secret

**A/N: Hey, hope you're liking the story so far, sorry I haven't updated for a little while I've been a tad busy- anyway, new chapter! YAY...I hope.**

 **Edit: I am going through this story and just touching up a few details, mostly just grammar and punctuation. Adding a little extra dialogue and description in some places too. This is because when I began writing this fiction I was younger and less experienced as an author and, having read through my work again recently, I was very displeased with my efforts and decided it needed a little cleaning up.**

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 ***/\/\/\/\** -_-_-_-_ _ **Chapter**_ _ **4**_ __-__ -_-_- **/\/\/\/\\***

The party was lively as one would expect with all the guests ranging from slightly intoxicated to very, very drunk. Anna smiled as she looked around, Elsa was in conversation with a few of the guests. Despite her having pretty much no human contact for thirteen years Elsa was quite confident speaking to other people, she was charming and graceful, unlike Anna who had all the grace and charm of a wooden spoon. She was pleased that Elsa seemed to be getting better at being around people now that they knew about her powers, as at first she tended get anxious in the company of large crowds.

Anna was relieved that it was finally over- in a good way! All the planning and preparing had been utterly exhausting. She was glad she had Elsa to help her organise everything. Anna was sure that without Elsa remembering everything she would have just got caught up in the excitement and nothing would have been done and she would have been getting married in the stables. Thank the Gods for big sisters, eh?

Olaf loved parties, all those people to hug. Some of them looked at him funny when he hugged them but he didn't mind, he thought they looked quite funny too in their fancy suits and dresses. He was happy that Anna and Kristoff were finally married. He wondered when Elsa might get married and whom she might marry. Maybe that guy over there with the beard or maybe that tall man in the fancy blue coat or that guy with the red hair... he supposed not. Elsa needed someone as special as she was. The snowman stood and thought, something he didn't often do, maybe Elsa would get married to a nice king or prince, maybe she wouldn't, maybe he might go and eat that last piece of cake- ooh maybe he should see if everyone wanted another hug!

"I'm so glad you're my wife." Kristoff said wrapping his arms around Anna, she smiled.

 _Wife._ She thought. She liked the sound of that.

Kristoff held Anna in his arms as they said goodnight to their guests, all whooping and cheering in celebration.

The guests left soon after, heading to their rooms in need of sleep. Elsa was the only one left, sitting alone, pondering. Since the her coronation only a short time ago everything had come so far. She had rekindled her relationship with Anna, her powers had been revealed and accepted, Anna and Kristoff were now married, could that disaster have turned out any better?

* * *

Tomas was in the stables again that night tending to the horses once more. They were in need of more carrots so he walked through the gardens to the castle and entered. He went to the kitchen but on the way he passed by the ballroom or, to be more specific, the heavenly figure that was leaving the ballroom. Her Majesty had just closed the large oak door behind her. He smirked.

"Good evening, Elsa." He said, she seemed surprised that he had spoken to her.

"Good evening." She replied politely, making to turn and leave without another word.

"Suppose I said I was going to tell, what would you do?" He asked, a slight smirk upon his lips. Elsa's eyes narrowed and her smile disappeared.

"Why would you want to tell anyone? I'm not sure your wife would be thrilled to discover you had been kissing other women." She quipped. Tomas just laughed, it was dark and cold and heartless and it almost made her shiver with disgust.

"She wouldn't care, she does as _I_ say and I do as I _please_." He said. Elsa's eyebrow rose and all of a sudden she wanted to whack the arrogant man before her with anything she could get her hands on.

"I'd have to kill you." She said flatly. Tomas' smirk only grew, she was growing to dislike him very quickly, what had she ever seen in him? The smarmy little swine.

"You and I both know that won't happen. Queen Elsa is far too kind to kill. You don't kill people Elsa, not even that Prince that tried to kill you, you let him go on his merry way, back home. How would you explain my death? You have no control over me Elsa and there's nothing to stop me from telling everyone in the kingdom. But for the sake of our relationship, you can continue to be my dirty little secret." He flashed a devilish smile then held a finger to his lips and continued on his way, leaving the Queen to seethe at his arrogance.

She couldn't say anything for fear that he would reveal their secret and he was right, she wouldn't kill him, she didn't kill people. She couldn't live with the guilt. The crackling of ice broke her train of thought, beneath her feet ice had spread and was making it's way down the hall, she rolled her eyes and forced those thoughts from her mind. The ice ebbed away as she made her way upstairs to her chambers trying to ignore Tomas' infuriating threats.

* * *

 **A/N: Heh...not much but I hope you enjoyed that chapter, Tomas is turning out to be quite a jerk don't you think? Please leave a review if you enjoyed it or even if you didn't...just leave one anyway...**

 **-Fly ;D**


	5. Drink Me

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys and all the views as well, hope you're liking this so far. I'd like to thank: alvinandbrittany4ever and Shadowfax321 and both Guests, all reviews are much appreciated :)**

 **Sorry it's late, I've been a wee bit busy revising, it's my GCSE Year.**

 **!I DON'T OWN FROZEN!**

 ****!READ! T/W: This chapter mentions rape, if that makes you uncomfortable/upset then I suggest you skip this chapter. There is no detail about the actual rape (no sex scene), it's just mentioned but I just thought y'all might appreciate the warning.****

 ** **Edit: I am going through this story and just touching up a few details, mostly just grammar and punctuation. Adding a little extra dialogue and description in some places too. This is because when I began writing this fiction I was younger and less experienced as an author and, having read through my work again recently, I was very displeased with my efforts and decided it needed a little cleaning up.****

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 ***/\/\/\/\/\\-_-_-_-_-_ **Chapter5** ___** _-_ ** ___ -_-_-_- **/\/\/\/\/\\*****

King Ulrich frowned, his brows drawing together in disgust. His brother had been imprisoned and a witch was free.

 _Why is that fair?'_ He asked himself with a growl, running a hand through his auburn locks.

Ulrich knew he hadn't been the best elder brother with all his studying and preparing to succeed his father as King but that didn't mean that he didn't care. This whole thing made his late father and the entire Southern Isles look incompetent. He needed to free his brother somehow, wash away the shameful stain his failure had brought upon the Westergaard family name but first he needed to kill that witch...

* * *

The morning sun was bright, the early April birds were chirping their merry tunes and a kaleidoscope of flowers had begun to show their beautiful colours. Only days earlier Anna had gotten married. She liked to think the flourishing outdoors represented her and Kristoff's blossoming relationship. All that aside, Elsa had asked her to come and see her in her study before she 'wandered off'. What could be so important that it couldn't wait until later? Anna shrugged and raised her hand to knock her signature knock.

"Come in." Came Elsa's voice. Anna stepped inside and smile brightly at her sister.

"Hi Elsa." Anna said happily. Elsa gave a slight smile though her mind seemed to be elsewhere.

"You alright Elsa, you've got your thinking face on again?" Anna asked, noticing the far away look in the elders eye's.

Elsa had spent an embarrassing amount of time thinking about Tomas. Not like that but she wondered where he got his arrogance from. She was the queen, did she _need_ a reason to kill him? She could have him arrested for looking at her wrong if she so pleased. Was he even really a threat or was her desire to be perfect taking over again? Elsa realised perfection was impossible but she had told herself for so many years that she needed to be perfect and she supposed old habits died hard. Now she realised she could have Tomas killed or arrested for whatever she wanted, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that he didn't have any control over her.

"Anna...I've been meaning to tell you something for a few days now but you need to keep it to yourself-" Elsa began.

"-what? What's happened? Is it Hans? Has he escaped? Or are we at war- there's a food shortage- the orphanage burned down- what's happened?" Anna interrupted, suddenly frantic.

"No, nothing terrible like that... I just needed to talk to you." Elsa replied. Anna breathed a sigh of relief, how sad it could've been for those orphans; homeless, at war and starving with a maniac prince on the loose.

"Sure." Anna said with a slight frown, Elsa sounded serious.

"You know Tomas, don't you?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah, that weird stable hand that you like." Anna chuckled.

"I don't like him. He's just a friend."

"Yeah right, I'm surprised you're not smooching in the stables." Anna teased, unaware that she had just hit the nail on the head. Elsa went silent. When Anna had finished laughing she noticed Elsa's silence and raised an eyebrow at her sister. "What...I- wait...did you kiss him!?" Anna blurted. Elsa's silence was enough, Anna didn't need a reply. "...oh wow, I can't believe it-"

"-When I went to the stables to check Sven was ready on your wedding day... I don't even... I don't know why, it just happened." Anna stared open-mouthed.

"So, what I'm hearing is that you like him?" Anna asked. Elsa frowned.

"No."

"But you kissed him, where I come from that means you like someone. Is it not the same in Elsa-land?" Anna chuckled.

"Anna, I'm serious." Elsa said flatly. Then it was Anna's turn to frown.

"What's there to be serious about? If you like him then go ahead. I'd love for you to be happy with someone, like me and Kristoff." Anna said with a smile.

"It doesn't work like that. I can't be with someone like Tomas-" Elsa began only to be interrupted once more.

"-oh yeah, I forgot. He's married right?" Anna sighed, disappointed that her sister's potential love interest had already been snapped up.

"Well, there's that and he's also common." Elsa replied. Anna's face was a mix of confusion and...disgust? Common? Why was that even important?

"What's wrong with him being common, Kristoff's not royal and he's great?! Are commoners not good enough for you?!" Anna shouted. Elsa raised an eyebrow, she didn't like being yelled at.

"No, that's not wh-" She tried.

"What? You think because you're the queen that you're too good but because I'm just the princess it's okay to hand me over to any-"

"Anna!" Anna stopped mid-rage. Elsa didn't often shout and Anna had failed to notice the snow drifting gently around them or the ice that covered the table beneath her sister's hand. "Shut up and listen...please. I don't get to choose like you did. I'm the queen, my duty is to protect Arendelle and to keep its people safe and happy. If I marry a wealthy, powerful prince then Arendelle benefits, we have a new ally and more trade but if I marry a commoner then what does Arendelle get?" Elsa continued, raising a brow and folding her arms in question.

"A happy queen." Anna said stubbornly. Elsa sighed.

"What about an heir Anna?" Elsa asked. Anna frowned, what about an heir? Elsa's first child would become the next monarch of Arendelle or her if she had no children.

"What? I don't understand." Anna replied, she understood that Elsa needed an heir to the throne, if she had no children it would pass down to herself but not why that had anything to do with who she could and couldn't marry.

"I need a child of royal blood to be my heir. Tomas couldn't give me that even if we were together. It's that simple." Anna sat back down silently, her thoughts were sprinting around her brain making her dizzy. Elsa watched her sister as she processed this news, judging by her expression she wasn't too pleased. As the younger of the two, Anna had never had to learn about the responsibilities of being queen such as providing her kingdom with a royal heir. She knew the basics but she supposed her parents never thought it worth their time trying to teach the spare such things, they had their perfect little heir Elsa anyway. Well, perfect being the operative word. Elsa had turned out to far from it right from the very start of her reign.

"So you don't get to be happy?" She asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Whoever I marry, I'll always be happy as long as you are." Elsa replied, Anna had always been her priority.

"No Elsa. You marry whoever benefits Arendelle the most...but what about you? How do you even 'choose' who to marry? What if he's horrible or ugly or weird?"

"I could take his looks and personality into account but what matters most is that he's good for Arendelle which means Tomas and I are never going to be together, no matter how much you protest." Elsa said, she knew her duty as queen was to provide a healthy, royal heir and to keep them safe and that her choice actually mattered very little in the grand scheme of things.

"Oh...I-I suppose that's not terrible then. I just...I wish you got to choose like I did." Anna replied. Elsa deserved someone special.

"It doesn't matter, as long as you're happy." Elsa said softly as the redhead pulled her in for a hug. She knew Anna was happy with Kristoff and that was all that mattered.

Anna left shortly after, leaving Elsa to continue with her work. A hug and she was gone. However, there was something bugging her, something twitching at the back of her mind that she felt like she had forgotten to do.

* * *

Tomas sat on the ground outside his sad little house. He was thinking. How was he going to tell Elsa he loved her? It seemed that arrogance was not the way to go. Elsa was not like his wife. Elsa was strong, he couldn't intimidate her. She hadn't spoken to him since that night when he tried to blackmail her, he realised that she couldn't be blackmailed either. Force was out of the question, he didn't fancy taking on the wrath of her ice. If he were somehow able to catch her unaware then he would be able to get what he so desired.

* * *

Elsa sat at her desk drumming her fingers, her paperwork was far from finished but an ache behind her eyes told her she needed to stop, just for a little while. Anna had gone into town after begrudgingly accepting the fact that Elsa couldn't marry whomever she wished. Kristoff was ice harvesting but due back tomorrow evening and Olaf...well...one can only guess. She decided the library was probably the best place to go.

The halls echoed the _click-click_ of her ice heels until a large door stood before her. Inside was bookshelf upon bookshelf of books, all kinds of book; fairy tales, history books, geometry books, maps, all old tomes that were gathering dust and novels that sat unread, waiting for its knowledge to pour out to anyone that cared to open it.

Elsa was flicking through the pages of an old favourite when she heard the door open, unable to see who it was past the tall bookshelf she called out.

"Hello?"

"Hello." Came a whisper in her ear causing her to shriek and slam the book in her hands shut, covering it with verglas. She turned to scowl at her visitor and supposedly innocent green eyes looked back.

"Tomas you're a twit." She said sharply to which he laughed.

Tomas knew he needed to talk to Elsa, he needed to tell her. He needed her and she obviously wanted him, that's why she was angry, from holding back. It had to be, he knew it was.

"Tomas I wish to be alone." She snapped.

"I needed to talk to you." He said. Elsa rolled her eyes. Why on earth would he think she had anything to say to him? Was he really this persistent?

"Tomas, I really-"

"Please." Elsa gave in, she placed the book back on the shelf and motioned Tomas to carry on. Tomas took a calming breath and knew that if he didn't tell her now he never would.

"Elsa...I-I love you." He said. All the queen could do was stare, lips parted slightly and her face slightly flushed. The air grew cold and Tomas stared too, he stared into blue eyes waiting for his response.

"I...I don't understand...wh-what do you mean you 'love' me?" Elsa asked, her brow furrowed in confusion. Was he really telling her this? Now? After all he had threatened to do? What about his wife, his family?

"Exactly that. You're beautiful and I love you." He replied as he reached for her hand but she pulled away. He had revealed himself to be quite arrogant and she didn't want him to touch her. Apart from that, he had a wife and for him to be touching her was wrong, everything that had happened was wrong and Elsa wished she could just go back and erase it all.

"Tomas, you're _married_...a-and I'm the queen. We cannot be anything more than friends. If you were expecting something more, I'm sorry...I-I can't do that. " Elsa said, brows drew together as a guilt filled her chest.

 _Why wouldn't he be expecting more than that? You kissed him after all._ She thought.

"Don't say that. I know it meant something- couldn't you feel it? Don't I mean anything to you?" He pleaded with a desperation in his dark eyes.

"No! Tomas it meant nothing and neither do you. I can't be with you, you're not royal, that is all it comes down to. Even if it did mean anything it wouldn't matter, you're married and I'm the queen. That _shouldn't_ have happened. I need to do what's best for Arendelle and I know that the council won't even entertain the idea that you and I could be together." Elsa said impatiently. "So please, just stop."

"Don't tell me you didn't feel something special, don't tell me you don't love me." He growled angrily. He knew she did.

"I don't and even if I did it wouldn't matter. I'm sorry Tomas." She replied. Tomas frowned, she was lying- she had to be. He wanted her too much for it all to have been a mistake.

"We don't have to stay here. We can leave, together." He said with a hopeful smile, hoping she would understand that he wanted her more than anything in the world.

"Leave? You mean runaway. I can't leave Arendelle, you know that. I have a duty to protect my Kingdom and my people, I cannot leave simply because you ask me to. This is ridiculous, Tomas, I think it would be best if you got back to work." He was silent, his face turned dark and he grit his teeth together, a hardy determination in his green eyes. He gave a stiff bow and then he was gone.

Elsa watched him leave, she _had_ enjoyed that kiss but it was _wrong._ So horribly wrong, it shouldn't have happened. They could never be together anyway so what was the point in pining?

Tomas knew she felt something. He seethed internally, she was _lying_. She did love him, he knew it. Otherwise why would she have kissed him. He wanted her and he would do anything to get her. Things that would be unthinkable to any other man but Tomas was convinced that no other man had ever felt desire for a woman like he did Elsa. The desire he felt was so strong; he would have her, one way or another...

* * *

Upon returning to her study Elsa found a letter with a wax seal bearing the Southern Isles emblem on her desk. She frowned. She hadn't heard from King Edvind since the Great Thaw when he apologised profusely for his son's unlawful behaviour. The letter stared up at her and it made her stomach turn. Why would he want to send a letter to her?

She picked it up and opened it, hands shaking slightly. The first thing she noticed was that the King's handwriting had changed dramatically, before each letter had stood dead straight but now it leaned to the right and the writing was smaller and neater than it was before.

 _Dear Queen Elsa of Arendelle,_

 _I'm sure you received a letter apologising for Hans' behaviour but this letter is not like that letter. I, unfortunately for you, am not as forgiving as my father was. I cannot believe that he has allowed Hans to be punished for trying to rid the world of such a vile creature. A witch is all you are and it should be you suffering not him. I am not scared of you witch. Why should you be free whilst my brother is behind bars? He was doing Arendelle a favour. You don't deserve freedom or respect. The people of Arendelle will be free from your reign. I can't allow such a repulsive being to go on ruling, those people will realise eventually that they are being led astray by a monster. They think they are safe because no-one would dare attack the Ice Queen's kingdom but how long are they safe for? How long is it before you turn on them too? As a kind and caring King I offer you the chance to give yourself up. A quick death with as little pain as possible or I could slay you in battle, your choice. A nice, quiet demise or a gruesome slaughter on the battlefield. The choice, as I said, is yours but the outcome is the same, you need to die. You are a just another challenge that the Gods have sent for me to see if I am worthy to wear the crown of the Southern Isles. Trust me, I will not fail to complete this challenge, unlike my brother and late father._

 _King Ulrich of the Southern Isles._

Elsa scowled at the letter only to realise it and everything else in her study was covered in ice. Edvind must have passed on, now Hans' crazed brother was King and he was angry. He threatened war on Arendelle if she didn't give herself up for execution. He had called her a monster, she hated that word. It suggested that she was cruel, which she never wanted to be. Though it seemed that Ulrich believed she was worthy of its use.

She wasn't going to give into him and surrender but she didn't want Arendelle to suffer through a war either. She called for tea to help her think. She could only assume that Ulrich was already preparing for a war.

* * *

Tomas scowled at his reflection. He'd always thought he was a fairly good looking guy. Why wasn't that enough? Just because he wasn't a prince that didn't mean he couldn't love her. He didn't understand; it wasn't fair, Elsa wasn't fair. He felt such a strong desire for her, he wanted her. Tomas knew that she felt something but if she wanted to deny it then so be it, he would still get what he wanted even if he had to take it. He had a plan. His hand slipped into his pocket and pulled out a bottle of tincture, now he just had to wait for the opportunity to arise...

* * *

Anna sat by the lake, idly pulling blades of grass from the ground. The Princess was thinking. Often a dangerous pastime for such a vivid imagination, as Elsa would say. Her hand lay on her stomach, it was possible that a wee baby was growing inside her, she was overjoyed this morning after discovering she had missed her cycle. She had meant to tell Elsa this morning but she had gotten caught up in that whole marriage discussion and it slipped her mind. Only after a long walk through town did she remember.

She wondered how Kristoff would react when she told him. She was sure he would be a brilliant father; he was kind and caring and she loved him oh so much. Anna couldn't wait for him to return tomorrow, she just couldn't wait to tell him.

* * *

He stood outside Elsa's chambers, his desire was driving him insane, it was turning into an obsession but of course, he couldn't see that he only saw what he wanted to see. He had offered to take the Queen's tea to her the young maid had thanked him and left it to him to deliver it. Tomas pulled the tincture out of his pocket and without hesitation poured it all into the tea. One sip and she would be out for at least a few hours, he used it sometimes when he had trouble sleeping but never at this high a dose. Half a bottle was likely to render her unconscious almost instantly for considering a few drops could do so in ten minutes. He slipped the bottle back into his pocket and knocked.

"Come in." He opened the door and at first she didn't notice him but when she looked up and met his eyes, she frowned.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. Tomas chuckled.

"I believe somebody asked for tea." He said with a slight smirk. He quickly squashed it, not wanting to arouse her suspicion. If this was to work she had to trust him. He wanted her so much. And now, so close to getting what he deserved, he was practically salivating over the blonde beauty before him.

"Oh, thank you." She replied. He set it on her desk and left without another word, now he just had to wait. And wait he would, with an excitement stirring in his stomach, among other things.

Elsa paced the room, she needed to prepare Arendelle for war. Ulrich didn't sound like he was up for negotiating. And she was most certainly going to surrender. The ache behind her eyes had returned with fervour and she took a calming breath. Walking over to the desk to re-read Ulrich's threatening letter, she picked up the tea, brought it to her lips and drank. It tasted horrid, at first she assumed it was a poison of some sort but then her eyelids grew heavy, her ears began to buzz as blood rushed to her skull. A sickness washed over her as the cup fell from her hands. She felt a rush of emotions taking over her: fear, confusion, anger, tiredness. Then as she fell to the floor, blackness pooled in the edges of her vision as her heavy lids fluttered closed, bile rising in her throat.

Tomas heard the cup shatter from outside and assumed she had drank from it, a smirk grew upon his lips. He entered the room and locked the door behind him. He saw the cup in pieces and Elsa laying next to it, his smirk grew.

' _Finally...'_ He thought. He knelt beside the blonde beauty and lifted her carefully onto the bed then gently pulled her lovely hair free of its braid.

 _It's so_ soft. He thought as he ran his fingers gently though her platinum tresses.

With a delicate touch, he caressed her cheek, porcelain skin clear as day and soft as silk. He swept her hair from her face and hungrily pressed his lips against hers as his hands searched for the laces on her dress. One by one they came undone and exposed her beautifully soft alabaster skin. Running a hand over the curves of her gorgeous body, he felt a shock of excitement run through him. She was soft, virginal in every sense of the word. Untouched. Pure and wonderful, his for the taking. His eyes wide with arousal as they roamed her figure and came to rest between her thighs. Her gentle breaths brushed over his lips as he leaned in once more to claim them. With a smirk, he ran a hand through her platinum blonde tresses once more and with the other he reached to undo the buckle of his belt.

* * *

Anna loved the early evening, in spring it was lovely to see all the flowers in the fading sunlight. She walked back to the castle, intent on remembering to tell Elsa her good news. By now she was starving and the thought of dinner waiting for her at home made her walk a little faster. All of a sudden she became aware of a small voice calling her from behind. She turned but there was no-one left, everyone had gone home, _probably for dinner_ her growling stomach reminded her. As she squinted in the dying light she could make out the shape of a man and...a child and a moose? What? Then it waved and called her name again. Kristoff! Oh, how could she have not recognised his voice? The 'child', it was now obvious it was Olaf as he ran towards her as fast as his stubby legs would allow with his arms outstretched.

"Anna! Hi!" Olaf chirped happily as she stooped to hug the jovial little snowman. As Kristoff neared she smiled and called:

"What're you doing back, I thought you'd be gone at least until this time tomorrow?"

"What? You're not happy to see me?" He asked with a mock hurt expression. Anna chuckled as he pulled her in for a hug and again when she heard his stomach growl almost as fiercely as hers.

"We should get back to the castle, dinner should be ready by now and I have something really important that I need to tell you." Anna said, she held his hand and started leading the way back home with a massive grin painted on her face.

"Why can't you tell me now?" The harvester asked, curious as to what had her so happy.

"It's a surprise." Anna said, practically dragging him to the castle in excitement.

"Ooh, I love surprises, what is it?!" Olaf asked, joy in his little snowman eyes. Anna laughed.

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" Anna replied. Sven snorted in agreement. "Besides, I want Elsa to hear it too."

All of a sudden footsteps could be heard from the castle. It was dark now but even in the darkness Anna recognised the runner as Tomas, he was out of breath and he stopped for a second and as he caught her eye she saw the panic on his face. He set off again towards the west part of town at a speed on a guilty man could run. Then more footsteps came rushing out of the castle as several armed guards sprinted after him.

"What's going on?" Kristoff asked. Anna frowned ad shook her head.

"I have no idea- Captain, what's going on?" Anna called to the Captain, he stopped but his men continued to chase Tomas. Captain Bjorn tried to catch his breath and then replied:

"The queen... she... she's frozen her door shut... he was seen running from her chambers before the skies... opened up and an almighty snowstorm began. I must go." before once again running in pursuit of the stable hand. Anna looked up, she hadn't even realised it was snowing. Kristoff and Anna shared an equally confused look before the redhead went dashing into the castle to see what was wrong with her sister.

She took the stairs two at a time, as fast as her short legs could carry her. Then she skidded around the corner, Kristoff and Olaf in tow. He door to her sister's chambers was not visibly frozen but a chill was coming from the other side which revealed as much.

Anna raised a hand and knocked. No answer. She looked to Gerda beside her.

"Gerda what's happened?" Anna asked, hoping Gerda might have been better informed than the Captain. Gerda shook her head.

"I don't really know your Highness, I just saw Tomas running down the hall and then this snowstorm began. I-I dread to think what he's done." The elderly maid replied. It was hard to hear over the howling of the wind whipping down the hallway but Anna didn't need to hear in order to know that something was up with her sister (the snow should have been a big enough clue.) What was Tomas doing in Elsa's chambers anyway?

She put an ear to the door and she thought she could hear sobbing but over the wind she couldn't be sure. Anna knocked but there was no answer. She tried the handle but it was either locked or frozen shut. She felt her heartbeat quicken and suddenly she felt panicked; Elsa was shutting her out again. She didn't want Elsa to drift back to her old ways, especially after seeing how hard her sister had worked to correct them.

"Elsa? Elsa please let me in! I just wanna help. Please, don't shut me out again." She begged. She tried the door once more but it wouldn't budge. "Elsa! Please, let me in. I...I just want to help you." Anna repeated, feeling somewhat useless.

Kristoff saw the disappointment on the red-head's face and frowned at the door, he took a step back and pulled Anna away from the door. He charged forwards and threw all his weight at the door. Kristoff knew he was strong but he also knew these doors were made of thick oak wood. So he took another few steps back and did the same again, it was working. Maybe one or two more. Kristoff stepped back again and this time he threw himself against the door in a desperate bid to break through. He grunted in frustration at the stubborn wood. He trailed back, going as far as he could before taking another run up and throwing himself whole heartedly at the damn door.

It worked, it splintered and he winced as he landed on the floor with a thud. Everyone gasped as snow and ice flew out of the room and the temperature dropped even further. Anna quickly jumped past him and into the room. He stood and went to follow but before he was able to an icy wall erected itself before him, closing off the chilly room once more.

Anna looked desperately for Elsa but it so hard to see past the white of the snow swirling around her so instead she yelled:

"Elsa! Elsa, it's me, Anna. Elsa, where are you?" Elsa either didn't reply or her response was lost to the icy wind. Anna stumbled about, looking for Elsa. She thought by now she would remember where everything was in her sister's room but it seemed not. She tripped over something, it felt like an item of clothing or a sheet. Anna stood and carried on searching, following the cold.

' _The colder it gets, the closer I must be to Elsa.'_ She thought as she squinted through the snow.

Anna stopped and listened, she though she could hear crying, she must have been pretty close so she decided to shout her again:

"Elsa!"

"Anna?" Came a hoarse reply only a few steps away. Anna tried to find Elsa in the snow but none of her features stood out so she reached forward and felt around to find Elsa. Finally, her hand found Elsa's in the storm and she felt Elsa's iron grip tighten around her hand. She pulled Elsa closer in the snow and all she could feel was cold, freezing cold. She managed to see ice blue eyes through the snow and she wrapped her arms around her sister to find she was covering herself with a sheet.

' _What the... What's she doing? What happened?_ ' Anna thought. She felt Elsa lay her head on her shoulder and she felt the sobs racking the elders body.

"Elsa come on, it's okay. I'm here now. I've got you, it's alright." Anna said. She felt like she was talking to a frightened child. Anna closed her eyes and held Elsa tighter she couldn't tell if she was shivering from the cold or if it was Elsa crying but she kept her eyes shut, the wind and her sister's sobs were all she could hear.

Slowly but surely the storm died down. When but a few snowflakes continued to drift from above Anna opened her eyes. Elsa was still trembling in her arms and now she could see that she had covered herself with a bed sheet under which she seemed to be unclothed. Anna averted her eyes and walked with Elsa to sit on her bed. Still she continued to sob. Anna frowned in confusion. What had he done?

Kristoff and the castle staff had made themselves scarce after hearing such sobs, deciding it best to let the princess handle things and so Anna was left alone with her sister.

"Elsa...what happened?" She asked, running her thumb over the back of Elsa's pale hand. Elsa wouldn't meet her eyes, she just lay her head on Anna's shoulder and continued to weep and tremble. "Elsa, please. What did he do that was so terrible?" Silence. Anna held her close and stroked her sister's hair, trying to comfort the distressed young woman. After a moment Elsa pulled away, shame in her eyes. Then in a broken voice she said:

"...He raped me."

* * *

 **Hey, sorry it's been so long guys, I've been so busy with school but here you go. The dreaded unveiling of Tomas' true intentions. How will Anna react? Will he be caught by the guards and the Captain? Maybe...**

 **Thanks for reading hope you like it so far, I'm enjoying playing with the characters. This is my longest chapter so far, I think, at 4708 words so yay! If you be so kind as to leave a review that would make my day. Bye!**

 **-Fly :P**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Hey, new chapter! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter, I enjoyed writing it, I struggled a little with Elsa and Tomas' incident because I usually don't like to write anything sexual (not even mildly sexual). That's why I didn't go into detail, I also thought it might upset some readers or turn them off this story so I kept it minimum. Huge thanks to all the readers, I really appreciate that you've spent the time to read my story. Reviewer rachel, thanks for readingShadowfax321, that will be something that Elsa mentions later (why was she so stupid blah blah blah...) thank you for reviewing, as I said above, I'm thankful that you've read this story and maybe your questions will be answered later on.**

* * *

Tomas ran, faster than he knew he could. If they caught him it would be prison for him. Then again, maybe Elsa would save him and admit her love for him now that he had showed her how devoted he was to her. Right now he couldn't take that chance; if he could get away he could hide and wait for his Ice Queen to summon him.

He sprinted through the streets of Arendelle but in the dark it was so difficult to navigate. He slid under a cart carrying fruits and vegetables and took a glance over his shoulder just in time to see one of the guards run into and topple over it. A smirk grew on his lips; these idiots didn't know what they were doing.

He turned left into a dark alley and carried on running even though his legs screamed in agony and his lungs felt like they were going to explode in his chest. He felt his heart beating like a drum as he came out of the alley and turned right. If he was going the right way his home should be somewhere around here. He glanced behind him and saw that they were far behind, almost out of view. He just had to keep going.

There! He could see it, his house! If he could just get in and grab a few things he could be on his way. He would run and hide somewhere in the forest until things had died down, if Elsa hadn't requested his presence by then he would jump on a boat out of Arendelle. He looked back again and decided they were too far to be able to see him, he couldn't see them any more.

He burst through the door and slammed it shut behind him, panting, chest heaving. His wife and sons must have been asleep. His breathing had not yet calmed but he couldn't afford to stop. He grabbed his knapsack and began to stuff it with anything he deemed useful. The blanket on the sofa, food and a knife from the kitchen. Tomas rushed into his and his wife's bedroom and in his haste forgot she was sleeping. Her eyes opened, alarmed.

"Tomas! What're you doing? Where have you been?" She asked, her voice heavy with sleep.

"Shut up, Astrid, I don't have time!" He replied, frantically looking for something in the bedside table drawer. She frowned, whenever he was in one of his moods he tended to take it out on her, she hoped the boys hadn't noticed but she knew it was hard to miss the way she flinched at his touch.

"Time for what?" She said. Tomas scowled at her, making her blood run cold.

"I need to go."

"Go? Why?" Tomas rolled his eyes.

"Something's happened, I-I need to go...where is it?" Astrid looked confused and shook her head in bewilderment.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She replied, wondering what on Earth he was tearing their room apart for.

"The money! The money that we've been keeping!" He growled as if it were obvious.

"Why do you need that-" She began. An angry cry of frustration flew from Tomas' lips as he threw the bedside table across the room. Astrid just watched in horror, brown eyes staring fearfully. Tomas was fuming, he needed to go, now!

"I need to go – I need it!" He spat.

"Sh...should I get the boys?" She asked. If they needed to go she needed to get the boys and gather a few things first. The look he gave her sent a shiver down her spine.

"No! I said _I'm_ going not _we._ I don't need you! " Tomas replied. He found it! Under the bed. "I'm going." He lunged forward. All of a sudden his hands were at her throat and she was lifted off her feet. "You don't tell anyone that I came back here, do you understand?" She nodded and he released her, she fell to the ground gasping for breath, head swimming.

"Papa? What's going on?" Came a small voice from behind. Tomas turned to see his eldest son Oliver staring up at him. Tomas knew he had to go now, he didn't have time for this!

"Nothing, just go to bed." He said as calmly as he could. Oliver frowned at him, confused.

"But I thought I heard you shouting-" He began.

"-Oliver go back to bed, now." Astrid demanded, casting him a firm look. Oliver went back to his room and no sooner had he shut the bedroom door had the front door burst open. Tomas' eyes widened in panic and he tried to hide but there was no point, they were on him in seconds, weapons at the ready.

"Tomas, come with us." Said Captain Bjorn, sword in hand. Tomas frowned and resisted the urge to spit at him.

"Why should I?" He growled back. Bjorn looked back with hard grey eyes.

"You know what you've done." Tomas shrugged. Bjorn felt his anger growing and his grip on his sword tightening. "You know Tomas, I've never liked you." He added. Tomas feigned offence and Bjorn motioned for his fellow guards to hold Tomas . Bjorn and the other guards dragged Tomas outside and saw the snow still falling. It had calmed, Bjorn hoped none of the townspeople would question it; some years there was still snow on the ground in early May.

Astrid watched as the royal guard dragged her husband out of their home, she was so confused. What had he done that was so bad? She felt something on her leg and looked down to see Oliver, just seven years old, holding onto her as he watched them take his father. He looked up at her with those green eyes and asked:

"Mama, where's Papa going, what did he do?" Astrid smiled a weak, broken smile and said:

"I don't know baby, I don't know." She picked him up and closed the front door. Brushing his ebony hair from his eyes, she placed a kiss on his forehead and took him back to his bed. She tucked him in and kissed him once more. She looked over to Oskar, who could sleep through anything, then looked back to Oliver, he was already beginning to fall asleep.

"Don't worry, every thing's going to be fine." Before she could finish, the little boy had drifted back into a slumber.

* * *

Most of the past half an hour had been spent holding her sister while she sat in silence. Anna had told Gerda what had happened when she came to check on them about ten minutes ago. The elderly maid had almost collapsed with shock. She was just as flabbergasted as Anna. Elsa wouldn't speak and Anna wasn't going to force her. If that meant sitting here all night then so be it. In the state she was in, Elsa was just about capable of changing into a dress without freezing her entire room. Anna had demanded that the guards find that horse keeper and throw him in the darkest, coldest dungeon they could find. Several more guards had gone to join the search party, not knowing that the scoundrel had already been caught.

There was a knock at the door and Gerda came in to see Anna comforting the Queen who had yet to utter another word. She closed the door behind her and walked tentatively over to them.

"Your highness, if you're in need of anything, please, just let me know." She said as she sat on the bed.

"Thank you Gerda, I'm fine, I just hope they catch that creep." Anna said, stroking Elsa's platinum blonde hair. Anna covered her mouth in an attempt to stifle a yawn.

"Princess Anna, if you want to go and rest, I wouldn't mind staying for a while." The Princess remained silent for a moment and continued to twirl blonde strands around her finger. Then Elsa sat up but refused to meet either of their eyes.

"A...Anna, it's okay, I'll be fine." She said in a small voice. Anna was about to protest when Gerda opened her mouth.

"I think you should at least go and get changed Princess."

Anna looked at Elsa once more before leaving, she was trying to put on a brave face but Elsa was visibly shaken. Anna left and closed the door leaving the Queen in the company of the elderly maid.

Gerda, like Anna, didn't want to make Elsa feel like she had to explain. She sat and she waited. Gerda watched the young woman fidget, she went from fiddling with her fingers to playing with a lock of hair to hugging herself.

"Your Majesty, I-" Gerda began.

"-Gerda don't. Please." Elsa said softly. She swept her hair from her face and closed her eyes. The maid frowned.

"Don't?" Gerda repeated. Elsa made a face as if she tasted something awful, she looked like she was going to vomit.

"I...I just- I don't want sympathy. If...if I had have been more careful...it wouldn't have happened. I knew how he felt...I should have done something sooner." Elsa replied, a bitter taste to her words. Gerda raised a brow at the blonde. "It's my fault."

"Your Majesty, you can't be serious? How were you to know he was planning to do such a thing? It is in no way your fault; you are a victim." Said the old maid, taking no notice of the snow that had begun to flutter down from overhead once more. Elsa took in a shaky breath and closed her eyes once more to try to stop the tears breaking free. If only she had kept a closer watch on Tomas and been more aware. Then she felt a warmth on her back and she opened her eyes to see Gerda with an arm around her.

"Gerda, you needn't comfort me, I'm an idiot." She managed. Gerda cast her that caring, motherly look and pulled her closer. Under normal circumstances it was completely inappropriate for a maid to hug the Queen but Gerda wasn't just any maid. She had watched both Anna and Elsa grow up, she had been there since before Elsa was even conceived and she cared deeply about the platinum blonde.

"No you aren't. What that man did was wrong and it was not your fault. So please, stop putting yourself down, you're a wonderful young woman, your mother would be proud. You must know that it wasn't your fault dear." Gerda said holding the blonde closer. Elsa was silent except for her breathing. Gerda rubbed circles on Elsa's back and joined her in silence. Elsa lay her head on Gerda's shoulder, she was always there for her when she was growing up. She was the only person she ever saw from behind that door when her parents died. The maid would come everyday just to see how the young woman was and to make sure she ate something. Although they never spoke much and certainly never touched, Elsa could tell that Gerda cared. She had never pushed her to talk, she knew that she was hurting and she would never judge her when tears began to form in her eyes or when her voice cracked whilst politely telling her she wanted to be alone.

"Thank you Gerda. You know, since mother died...you...you became the closest thing to a mother I had and I'm grateful."

Anna had stood outside listening, since there was no door, that was fairly easy. She resisted the urge to barge in and tell Elsa every wonderful thing about herself.

There was silence and Anna decided now would be the best time to announce her presence. She knocked on the door frame and a pair of blue eyes and a pair of grey eyes looked up at her. Gerda smiled sadly and Elsa tried but no smile came. She supposed that coming to terms with what had happened and healing would take time.

"Your Majesty." Came a male voice from the doorway. All three women turned to see its owner, Captain Bjorn. "He's in the dungeons. I can accompany you if you wish, My Queen." Elsa met Anna's eyes and Anna nodded, offering her hand.

"Yes, thank you Captain." Elsa said.

The dungeon was cold and dark. Quite fitting for a man so vulgar, or at least Elsa thought so. She felt her stomach turning and her hands begin to shake. Anna met her eyes and in that one look she knew that she was there for her. Elsa took a deep breath and continued to follow the Captain.

Bjorn stopped and turned to his left. The last cell on the left.

"Elsa!" Came the voice of a man she once thought decent. She felt her skin crawl at thought of what he did. It was worse still that he thought he could still use her name to address her. "Tell them to release me." He added.

"Why on Earth would I do that?" She asked, Tomas frowned, he didn't understand.

"What? I...what're you talking about? They arrested me. I don't deserve this, Elsa." He replied. Elsa took another deep breath. He was testing her patience.

"Tomas," Just saying his name made her want to throw up. " do you realise what you've done?" She asked. He frowned, of course he knew what he had done.

"Yes. I showed you how much I love you, if that isn't proof enough then I don't know what else to do."

"You've done quite enough. What you did wasn't 'love', Tomas. What you did is criminal and I hope you like that cell because you'll be spending a long time in there." Elsa said, trying to contain her emotions should she trigger another snowstorm and let him see just how much he had broken her. She and Anna made their way back upstairs. Elsa tried not to let his begging affect her. Was she being heartless? Was it really his fault or should it be her in that cell? Anna's hand on her arm brought her out of her thoughts and she tried to smile to tell her she was okay but she couldn't force even the smallest of smiles.

Tomas watched as his blonde beauty walked away, hands shaking. He felt an anger burning in chest. He didn't understand, he loved her and he had shown her, what more could he do? He slumped against the wall and hugged his legs, maybe she would come around once she'd had time to think about it.

Bjorn sat on the wooden chair just outside Tomas' cell. He had promised Queen Elsa that someone would be watching him at all times. Now he knew what he had done Bjorn couldn't look at him. He thought Tomas was a good guy and certainly never expected him to be capable of this.

* * *

"Anna, I'm okay." Elsa said once more. Anna was concerned that going to see him in his cell wasn't such a good idea.

"You...what you're okay? So, you're just going to go back to being Queen? Tomas is just gonna sit in that cell until he dies? You're going to pretend that never happened?" Came Anna's barrage of questions.

"I would rather forget it, yes." Elsa replied. Anna was confused.

"...so he's just going to sit in that cell, you're not gonna do anything with him?"

"What do you suggest I 'do' with him?"

"Oh...well... I don't know- execute him?" Anna snapped. She immediately regretted her harsh tone because Elsa looked like she was going to cry again.

"I can't." Elsa managed, trying to hold back tears once more. Anna thought she was confused before but now...well...she didn't understand why the _Queen_ couldn't have some scoundrel executed. Considering what he had done, Anna thought that was reasonable.

"Why?"

"I...I don't have time for that. I need to ready Arendelle's army." Anna stared, baffled.

"Huh...why?" She asked.

"The Southern Isles has a new King and he's not a fan of magic."

* * *

 **A/N: He's also a bit of an arse. Thanks for reading guys, reviews would be much appreciated. I'm currently looking for a beta, I've PM-ed a few already but nobody has got back to me. If any of you guys would be willing I'd be very grateful. I get very conscious about spelling, grammar and syntax especially but I'd also like to know if my writing is interesting (too much description or not enough, repetitive, not enough dialogue etc...) Feel free to PM me if you're interested in beta-ing this. Again, thanks for reading and please leave a review (feedback is fun to read.)**

 **-Fly :P**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Hey, thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy this chapter, I've found it a little difficult to write lately (writer's block, llamas, life, you know...) Hope you like it although it's extremely late...**

 **Disclaimer: I DON'T OWN FROZEN (I keep forgetting to put this in...)**

* * *

A short, polite knock at the door.

"Come in."

"Your Majesty, a Mrs Astrid Erikson awaits your presence in the throne room. It seems she is Tomas' wife, they are his children. I would advise you to address them as soon as possible." Kai said, standing in the doorway, a sad smile on his face. "I'm afraid she seeks answers."

"I'll be right there."

She had to hold herself together. This poor woman didn't even know where her husband was, never mind what he had done. Elsa felt her pulse race and her stomach churn at the idea of facing Tomas' family. How does one explain that sort of thing? To his wife especially. She took a few deep breaths before allowing Captain Bjorn to open the oak doors leading to the throne room where they waited for her, yearning for answers undoubtedly.

* * *

Astrid stood waiting for the Queen with her two boys, one either side. She held them close, almost like she thought if they wandered too far away they too would be snatched away from her. She had come for answers and she had come for her children's sake. Without Tomas they could not afford to eat, they could not afford to keep their home. She needed help, she was on the verge of losing their house, losing her boys, losing her sanity. Astrid watched as the Queen as she entered, she seemed far more uncomfortable than she did herself. There were other men there, one a council member with his fancy clothes and slightly upturned nose. The other with a sheathed sword and a kinder face. They made her feel uneasy, like something terrible waiting to happen. What had Tomas done?

Elsa sat and took a few seconds to observe Astrid and her sons. Astrid had fine dark blonde hair and tired amber eyes. She was definitely shorter than herself and a slightly bigger in build. Her face was just complete exhaustion, raising kids (so she had heard) was incredibly taxing and Astrid was proof, she looked run off her feet.

Then she looked at the boys either side of their mother. Both with black hair and green eyes that made her shiver. One slightly taller than the other but both looked like him. They looked sad, confused. It wasn't their fault, she felt a tug at her heart, they deserved better than Tomas.

"I believe you wished to speak with me, a matter concerning your...husband." Came the Queen's soft voice stoic and cold but vulnerable and sad at the same time.

"Your Majesty, I mean no disrespect but...I- my husband...I can't cope without him." Astrid replied, desperation in her voice. Elsa would have laughed had she not felt so guilty she may have. Surely nobody needed that vile waste of space in their lives. "I have no source of income, my boys- I can't afford food- they'll starve! I can't go out to work and leave them alone. Tomas should be released, he's their father, they need him- we need him! Please, your Majesty, what has he done that is so terrible that he should be locked away from his wife and children- kept away from his home?" Elsa felt guilt bubble up in her chest, she hadn't even thought about this poor woman and her children. Once again she was too caught up in her own grief to pay any notice to the family she had destroyed.

"Your husband has committed a heinous crime, he will remain in the castle dungeons until further notice. I shall make arrangements to cover the cost of your house-"

"-your Majesty, with all due respect, we can't do that- just _giving_ away that house, we can't afford that with the way things are right now-" Began the councilman standing to the Queen's right.

"-Councillor Larson, though you may be the Royal Financial Advisor, I feel this is a necessary cost. If we do not give this family a home then we have failed them. If _I_ do not take care of my people then I fail as Queen."

"But Your Majesty- "

"- Enough!" Elsa's head snapped to her right. A fearsome yet subtle scowl formed on her face. "You know we can't ignore this. The house is theirs, paid for. I owe them that at least. Councillor Larson, just do it, I trust that you understand why I feel this is necessary." He gave a small nod. Then she turned back to Astrid and added: "You will also receive double his weekly earnings, once a week. Is that sufficient to support your family's needs whilst Tomas is imprisoned or do I need to revise an alternative offer with my Financial Advisor?" She added casting a firm look at Larson, letting him know that a deal would be made and that he need keep his mouth shut.

"Oh...thank you your Majesty, that's wonderful! However, I do have one more concern. Why is it that my husband is being imprisoned? What has he done?" She saw how, instantly, the Queen's face turned dark, her body stiffened, her spine like an iron rod. She was, all of a sudden, a different person. Gone was the stoic, controlled monarch. Instead...she couldn't quite place it but...something akin to fear- no, regret, sadness? Yes that was more like it. Regret and sadness. But why?

"I do not wish to discuss such matters whilst there are young ones in the room. Would you mind if Bjorn here were to escort the children to the gardens whilst you and I talk?"

"O...okay, they'll be safe wont they?"

"Of course, you can trust the Captain." Elsa replied. Bjorn cast Astrid a somewhat comforting smile.

Astrid let the children go, she watched them run up to the Captain, they followed, followed, followed until they were out of sight. Her attention turned back to the monarch and she worried, she wondered what exactly it was that her husband had done?

"Councillor Larson, you are dismissed. Mrs Erikson, please take a seat." Elsa gestured to one of the wooden seats a few feet away. Astrid sat, now she was starting to worry, more so as she watched the Queen leave her throne and sit beside her. The Queen cast her a sympathetic look. "May I call you Astrid?" She asked. Astrid nodded, a slow, stupid nod. The fact that the Queen had asked her permission to use her name made her feel...strange, special even, Tomas never used her name. It had been so long since she had been called that. It was usually 'Wife' or 'Woman', never her name, she didn't deserve a name, that's what he said anyway.

"Has he killed someone?" She asked, fear taking over her body, had she given a killer free roam in her house, so close to her beloved children?

"No Astrid...he hasn't."

"He- he came home- he was running away- looking for money, he wasn't even going to say goodbye to the boys- was it something really terrible?" She asked frantically, her face panicked.

"Astrid, I need you to calm down. We have imprisoned your husband because he is... he is guilty of rape." Elsa managed, her voice trembling as her throat tightened. Astrid could only stare, mouth agape, speechless. Her thoughts whizzed around her head- she felt slightly dizzy. Her stomach turned and suddenly she felt sick. Rape? What? Tomas was a little...assertive but he...surely he would never-no he wouldn't, not Tomas, he loved her. He just had a hard time showing it.

"...No...no...no." Astrid got up out of her seat slowly, her whole world was floating inside her head. She felt like someone had filled her skull with boiling water, she couldn't think- she was angry. Her eyes narrowed and Elsa could feel her anger rising, she stood herself as she suddenly felt threatened. "What? He..he wouldn't- Why? You're lying! How would you even... the bitch- whoever she is...she...she must be lying." Astrid had begun to walk towards Elsa now and madness clouded her wide eyes. Elsa backed away slowly if not for her own safety but for Astrid's. Her fingers tingled and her chest ached. This woman was clearly distraught and it was all her fault.

"Would I lie to you?" She offered. "Please Astrid you need to stop, calm down. I can assure you tha-" Elsa began.

"-You can't have any proof! You're jealous...y-you want to keep him here, all to yourself but he's _my husband_ , you have to let him go!" Astrid screamed.

"You need to calm down. Astrid you need to stay back, please, I don't want to hurt you." Elsa replied, trying to remain the voice of reason. If she shouted and raged too someone would get hurt, it was her responsibility as Queen (and the reason Tomas was locked away) to make sure that didn't happen.

"Are you threatening me?" Astrid growled, it was evident that all her pent-up rage was coming through and she no longer had any sense of danger. It didn't matter that this was the Snow Queen, the witch, the Wielder of Ice that could kill her with a single flick of her wrist. She was just so angry. She put up with him everyday for the past ten years and he- this is how he repaid her? How could he?

Astrid was still advancing like a hunter would stalk its small, helpless prey. Snow had begun falling from above and Elsa felt her control slipping. She felt claustrophobic, she was backing herself into a corner. Ice beneath her feet. Ears ringing, heart racing, she could feel herself losing the battle with her powers, they wanted to attack, she was genuinely scared now. All of a sudden Astrid's fist was flying and Elsa felt her stomach turn as she leapt aside, willing her ice not to react to the threat.

Astrid growled in anger and picked up a chair. Elsa's eyes widened as the small woman hurled the chair at her with such strength. It almost hit but her instincts kicked in and a bolt of ice flew to intercept and the chair splintered in mid-air.

"Bjorn!" She yelled, she couldn't keep this up. She felt a nagging sensation in her chest, her powers wanted to fight, they were saying yes but her mind was telling her no. "Astrid calm down, please, I don't want to hurt you."

"Your Majesty?! Wh-" Came the relief of Bjorn's voice as he rushed in, sword in hand. Seeing the sour turn the meeting had taken he sheathed his sword and withdrew his bow.

Elsa watched as an arrow shot across the room and buried itself in Astrid's leg, she collapsed instantly, groaning in pain. She could only watch as Bjorn called for his fellow guards to take her to the physician. She felt sick, dizzy, tired. The rush was wearing off and Elsa saw a hand waving in front of her face and twin copper braids.

"Elsa? What happened?" Came a voice from far away, she couldn't focus on it, it was just there, floating around somewhere in front of her. Then they tugged on her arm and waved a hand in front of her face again Blue green eyes and she felt herself returning everything was getting clearer and she could hear:

"Hellooo? Favourite sister here, Elsa quit ignoring me." She blinked and blinked again.

"Anna?"

"Elsa, what's going on here? Who's that they're carrying away? What happened?" Anna asked.

"She...she's Tomas' wife." Anna's mouth and eyes grew wide.

"Did you tell her what happened?" She asked, eyes comforting and curious.

"I informed her of Tomas' crime then she...umm...she got slightly angry." Elsa replied, gesturing to the splinters of chair on the floor.

"She threw chairs at you?" Anna gasped.

"Just the one."

"Wow, that's crazy." Anna chuckled. Elsa raised an eyebrow, wasn't Anna usually the sensitive one?

"The poor woman has just been told that her husband is under our jurisdiction until further notice and that his imprisonment is due to non-consensual sex with another woman. I believe she has every right to be enraged. She didn't believe me, she's in denial, said I was lying. I couldn't tell her who it was...I felt like that was...unfair. Rubbing salt in the wound." Elsa said. Anna nodded and held Elsa closer only for Elsa to pull away.

"Anna, I'm sorry, I just...I can't stop thinking about how angry and upset she must be, I feel so guilty. I need to talk to her, apologise."

"But it's not your fault, come on, lets go do something, take your mind off it. You can go see her later." Anna said with a comforting smile as she held her sister's hand and pulled her towards the gardens.

"Your Majesty, I left the children with Gerda when you called, I'm sure they be fine with her." Bjorn said. Elsa gave a nod and allowed herself to be led away.

* * *

Elsa was with Astrid again after an hour. The physician had removed the arrow and cleaned and wrapped the entry wound. Astrid seemed much calmer now, she looked up at the Queen from her bed with sadness in her eyes.

"I'm so sorry your Majesty, I don't know what came over me...I just- I was so angry, I'm still angry but now I'm more upset than angry. I just hope that you can forgive me." Astrid said.

"I understand you're upset. I just hope that my offer to you can help you and your boys move on." Elsa replied. Astrid was quiet for a while and Elsa waited knowing that it was difficult to understand that her family's life was now completely different.

"Earlier I was thinking. I can't stay here, he's everywhere I look, every memory repeats itself in my mind. My boys need me to be the best I can, I can't do that here. I appreciate your kindness but I have to refuse. I'm taking my boys to the Southern Isles, I have a sister there, she can help us get through this." Astrid said sadly. Elsa nodded with understanding.

"You should go if that feels right. But allow me to at least arrange your boat out of Arendelle."

"Thank you, you have no idea how grateful I am."

"Just let me know when you're ready to leave and you can sail the same day. I'm sorry that you feel the need to leave but I understand nonetheless."

* * *

Elsa stood by the docks as Astrid was getting ready to leave. Astrid had her boys by her side and just one bag between them. The quaint Arendellian boat was just a few feet away and Oskar and Oliver were excited to say the least.

"I only wish your life here in Arendelle hadn't taken such an...unfortunate turn. I can't do anything to change what has happened, I can only apologise and wish you well." Elsa said to Astrid as she ushered her children onto the boat. "I also would like for you to accept this as a parting gift." Elsa handed Astrid a small, brown drawstring pouch. Curious, she opened it to look inside, in there was at least five times Tomas' weekly wage. Her mouth fell open and her eyebrows disappeared into her hairline.

"Thank you, your Majesty, me and my family will be forever in your debt. The kindness you have shown me is undeserved. I owe you more than I have ever owned, thank you very much." Astrid replied her expression somewhat happier.

"You owe me nothing, I just hope that this helps you move on from Arendelle and the sadness it has brought you. If there is anything else you need, please, just ask." Elsa replied with a small smile. Astrid pondered this for a moment and mustered up the courage to ask the one thing she wanted to know from the very beginning.

"If I may, your Majesty, who was the poor woman my husband assaulted?" Astrid asked, concern and sympathy in her voice.

"I would rather you didn't know, Astrid. Just know that you are not alone in your sadness." Elsa replied. It took a moment for Astrid to catch her meaning but when she did her mouth opened slightly and her eyes immediately saddened.

"Come on Mama, the boat's going!" Came two voices from the deck of the ship.

Elsa watched as Astrid turned and joined her children on the ship, she hoped they could find happiness away from Arendelle. The boys shouted their goodbyes as they sailed away and she gave small wave and smile back.

* * *

She shot up out of bed, shaking like a leaf. Her bedsheets had frozen-over, again. They were coming. Everyone was in danger and it was all her fault, again. She looked out of the large, glass balcony doors and into the moonlight, she closed her eyes and prayed that he wasn't coming and that it was all a bluff to lure her to him. He wanted her dead, he claimed that he would kill her for being different. For being a monster.

' _Bring it on.'_ She thought, if he wanted her dead then she was going to put up one hell of a fight. Even if she didn't feel brave she had to try.

It had been almost two months since she had received that dreaded letter, five weeks if one was being specific. Five weeks since Tomas had...oh, she didn't even want to think about it. She didn't remember any of it, just that foul-tasting tea. How stupid could she be? She shouldn't have trusted him at all. She knew how he felt about her. That encounter in the stables should have been enough but she was too afraid to get rid of him. She was afraid he would tarnish her reputation but now...well... a kiss would have been far less damaging than this. She felt so stupid, so naïve. Elsa knew that there was nothing she could do now. 'Should haves' and 'What ifs' weren't going to change anything. That didn't change the fact that she cries herself to sleep most nights or the fact that his very presence terrifies her or that she now feels so empty, robbed of something that she can't ever get back. Ever. She hadn't bled this month or the last but she kept pushing it to the back of her mind, telling herself it was nothing to worry about. Her powers and the stress of running a kingdom often interfered with her moon cycle, it was nothing to worry about.

Anna had announced she was pregnant just a few days later. She was elated, Kristoff too. It wasn't that Elsa lacked enthusiasm, she was delighted for them but she seemed to be the only one concerned about raising a child in a potential war-zone. All of a sudden, she felt her stomach turn and she leapt to her feet and into the bathroom. The entire contents of her stomach (very little) was now in the toilet...lovely. She then lay back on her bed and tried to ignore the tears that spilled down her face.

Anna sat in front of the fire in the library. Usually the library was Elsa's go to place for a little peace and quiet but it was two o'clock in the morning, hopefully Elsa was asleep by now. Anna watched the flames dance in the fireplace. She placed a hand on her stomach and smiled, she was so excited that she and Kristoff were going to raise this child together. However, Elsa was right, the great threat of King Ulrich bringing war to Arendelle was terribly unsettling. She was sure that if he was coming he would be on his way by now, it was only a matter of time before he arrived. Anna didn't know much about Arendelle's army, just that it was small. She hoped that the Southern Isles army was too...

* * *

He had lost count of how long he'd been here. It had to be knocking on two months now, maybe, that he had been sitting down in this damn cell. For what? He shook his head, his greasy locks stuck to his face. He had been locked up down here in this cold, bastard cell for showing the woman he loved how much he loved her. 'Loved' being the operative word. He no longer cared for that wicked bitch. He had shown her how much he longed for her and she had thrown it all back in his face. That witch could rot in hell now for all he cared. He still remembered that kiss, how he felt...she must have felt it too- but no! She lied. He had been upset at first but now all he felt was boiling rage. This wasn't how he deserved to be treated. The guard sitting outside his cell looked at him in disgust.

"Don't look at me like that. Haven't you ever thought you loved that woman? I loved her and all I got was punishment! She was beautiful. She could have any man she wanted." He spat. He was convinced he was in the right. How could he be wrong? He had shown that woman how much he had loved her, that's what they called it wasn't it, making love? He had loved her and he had been punished, how was that fair? Had nobody even considered that he might be innocent and that she might have been using some sort of witch-craft to lure him in, only to betray him and lock him up? It was possible, maybe ice wasn't her only ability, maybe she was like one of those siren creatures the sailors spoke of.

"That's not love, that's disgusting. I've admired from afar, maybe I've hoped that she might even _consider_ looking at me like that but never- not _once_ , have I ever even thought about hurting her the way you did, Tomas." The young guard replied, casting the cell-dweller a foul look. "Anyway, if she could have any man, what made you think she'd settle for scum like you?" He added with a smirk. If looks could kill.

* * *

Sat at her desk, reading over a report from Captain Bjorn, Elsa tried to rein in her anxiety. She knew fretting about Ulrich's arrival would do no-one any good. She had alerted Captain Bjorn almost immediately after she have read the letter from Ulrich, she needed him to be prepared. He had told her he would ensure the soldiers were training hard and were prepared for war. He said the royal guard were well equipped to defend the castle should the Southern Isles attempt an invasion, that the sailors were ready for the approach and the boats were in good, working order. She was stressed to say the least. Sometimes she wondered if her hair really was white like Anna so often joked. She put the quill down and closed her eyes for a moment to think when a hurried knock sounded at the door. She called for them to come in and one of the guards burst in breathless, his cheeks flushed and his chest rising and falling rapidly.

"Your Majesty...I...I'm so sorry...to interrupt but...but the boats...th-they're coming The...The Southern Isles, they're coming..." He said, his chest heaving, sweat on his brow.

"Does the Captain know?" She asked, already out of her seat. He nodded breathlessly.

"There are too many, we don't have enough boats to take the fight to them." Sure, Arendelle's boats paled in comparison to the grand Southern Isles boats but she wasn't about to let Ulrich waltz in and destroy her home. It was like a fire had been ignited in the pit of her stomach, she felt her brows draw together in anger, she wasn't going to go down without a fight. Too many? She didn't think so.

* * *

Anna watched the boats draw nearer and nearer, the townspeople were in panic. The Southern Isles were richer than Arendelle and their boats were proof. She heard the quiet mutterings and the not so quiet yelling of the people. They wanted to know what the Queen was going to do about it. Then, as if on cue, the Queen emerged from the castle, a hint of anger present in her almost stoic expression.

"Elsa, what're we gonna do?" Anna asked, looking out at the boats travelling across the fjord. They were still quite a ways out but the Southern Isles flag was all they needed to see to know that trouble was approaching Arendelle. Fast.

Kristoff put his hand on Anna's shoulder. He remembered Anna mentioning that Elsa had received threats from the Southern Isles' King but he hadn't expected anything to come of it. He didn't want Anna anywhere near here right now but he knew trying to persuade her to flee was futile; Anna wasn't going to leave Elsa to deal with this on her own.

He couldn't help the uneasy feeling in his stomach as the boat drew nearer to Arendelle. He wasn't a fan of the Snow Queen either but King Ulrich felt that she needed to die, he thought it was necessary for him to kill her to appease the Gods. Ulrich wanted her to himself, all he had to do was bring her back alive and if he didn't then the King would kill him. A sudden burst of ice cold wind caused his train of thought to stop, the boat lurched to the side, he felt his knees buckle and he hit the floor.

He hadn't expected a fair fight anyway. "Ready the cannons!" He yelled.

Elsa and all of Arendelle saw the three large cannons on the side of the ship fire one after the other, left to right. The Snow Queen erected a huge ice barrier to shield them. _Boom, boom, boom._ They hit one after another. A few citizens shared a terrified look. Then three more hit and people began to panic, they pushed and shoved, they ushered their children away, hushed their babies and bustled past each other, all looking for safety. Then another three hit and a crack ran down the ice from top to bottom, it couldn't take much more.

"Do you think I can do this by myself?!" She yelled to the guard standing beside her. "Tell the Captain I need boats out there now, this wall won't hold forever."

"Yes, Your Majesty." He then scurried off in the direction of the Captain's quarters, near the training grounds.

"Anna, I need you to start taking people into the castle, it's the safest place for them now." The people were not stupid, they had already decided that the castle was far safer than running around panicking. The townspeople were not fools, they scurried towards the castle without the Princess, some carrying their young ones to safety, leaving their Queen, the guards and sailors to save them.

"Elsa, I want to help, just tell me what to do." Anna replied. Kristoff saw a twitch of anger on the Queen's pale face.

"Go inside." Came her blunt reply. Anna frowned, confused.

"No, I need to help you."

"Help me by-" _Boom, boom, boom, crack!_ Another three shots, the ice wall was cracking and it wasn't going to last much longer. "- going inside, now! That's an order."

"But-"

"Anna come on, it's too dangerous." Kristoff interrupted as he heard three more cannonballs being fired. Before the Princess could continue to argue he picked her up in his arms and ran. Elsa heard her protests fade as Kristoff carried her further and further away.

Elsa hopped on one of Arendelle's navy boats and summoned an arctic wind to push them forward. Her knees were shaking and she felt a tingling in her fingers. She had no idea what to do but she knew she wasn't going to let Arendelle down. Not again.

Suddenly a loud boom sounded and three cannonballs were hurtling towards them, they soared across the sky like fat, ugly birds capable of utter destruction. A quick wave of her hand and three balls of hard ice flew into the air and knocked them off course. Two splashed into the fjord and the third was launched back at the Southern Isles' boat.

One was drawing closer, so close that the Southern Isles men were readying themselves to jump aboard the Arendellian boat. One, two, three they landed and charged toward them. She blew a cool breeze into their sail and the boat drifted away from her own, no turning back now.

She looked back round in time to dodge the swipe of a sword. She grabbed the wrist of her attacker and ice shot up his arm, he screamed and pulled away eyes full of fear.

Elsa could hear nothing but her own heavy breaths as this soldier stared her down, both of them with a different motivation; he would be killed by the King if he didn't kill the witch, she would put her kingdom and everything she held dear in danger if she didn't stop this attack.

The soldier flinched as an icy burst shot past his ear, he made anther swing with his sword only to strike ice. An icy wall about six foot tall stood between him and the Queen. It quickly disappeared but before he could strike again something hit him in the back of the head and everything went black.

Captain Bjorn smiled at the young monarch with the unconscious soldier at his feet. The others were not so lucky, they lay dead on the deck and were being thrown overboard. Elsa cringed at the sight of men laying in crimson puddles of their own blood, splattered on the deck of the ship. Aware that was only one boat of Southern Isles soldiers down and there were still three boats left, she shook off the feeling of nausea and looked to Bjorn for advice. They needed to work quickly if she was going to stop this attack and he was the one with the know-how.

"Your Majesty, we should use the cannon, my men won't last against all those soldiers." He said, tying rope around the feet of the downed soldier. Just as he finished, the second Southern Isles boat crashed into their bow, tearing a gaping hole in their boat. Elsa knew they needed to move, this boat was sinking deeper into the fjord by the second

"We need their boat." She told Bjorn. He nodded, slung the downed enemy over his shoulder, he ordered his men to charge. They surged forward, cutting down unprepared enemies as they went. Elsa follow closely behind them and jumped across to the enemy boat with her soldiers, ducking and dodging well-aimed swipes and stabs.

Bjorn dropped the enemy soldier to the floor. He swung his sword and caught a black haired lad in the face. The soldier stumbled back and then swung his own sword with such power that when he missed he staggered forward. Bjorn took this opportunity to run him through with his blade, straight through the back and out the front. Bjorn didn't have much time to mourn the poor lad as another sword barely missed his ear. He swung his arm round and managed to slice his assailant's leg. Bjorn faked a right and stepped left then struck his opponent's chest, dumb bastard wasn't even wearing a chest plate, causing crimson to pour from his chest and onto the deck, all over his brown leather boots. The soldier looked down and knew he didn't stand a chance but he charged forward with all he had left, Bjorn was too fast, he hit again and buried his sword in his shoulder. Bjorn used his foot to kick the soldier's body off of the end of his sabre. Then a third with blond hair, an ugly twisted face and dark, angry eyes threw himself at the captain. Bjorn sidestepped him then threw a punch. The punch connected with the lads jaw and he let out a grunt of pain. Bjorn swung his sword high and again caught his opponent's arm then swiftly punched him, breaking his nose. His attacker hit the deck with a groan, blood pouring from his face. He moaned in pain but in all fairness he was the most fortunate of them all, at least he wasn't dead. Bjorn bound the man like he had the other and continued to fight.

No one seemed to notice the third enemy boat drawing nearer, the men on-board planning to aid their comrades. A lone boom sounded and Elsa looked around, the third Southern Isles boat was approaching fast and she was otherwise occupied holding off two soldiers whilst her own soldiers tried to work the triple cannon. However, Elsa and Bjorn became suddenly aware of danger as they heard the cannon being fired. The enemy boats had three cannons but there was only one boom.

The men on the third enemy boat began to yell in distress and some even risked jumping the distance between the two boats as their vessel began to sink. None of them made it; all perished to the freezing, unforgiving depths of the Arendellian fjord.

Elsa searched the fjord for the source of their aid and found that an Arendellian boat was not too far away. She could see red hair aboard and in that instant a smile grew on her lips, Anna had been their saviour. Kristoff stood beside her, she knew he wouldn't have let her come alone. She didn't have time to celebrate however, as three booms sounded once more and she saw three black spheres shoot into the air and towards the ship that Anna, Kristoff and at least twenty of her men were on.

"Anna!" She yelled, the captain of the ship was trying to move the boat but as the wind had died down significantly it seemed they were going nowhere fast. Bjorn looked between Elsa and the cannonballs.

"You need to shoot them." He said with a reassuring voice. Elsa looked again at the cannonballs sailing through the air. They were so far away, what if she missed and killed her own men and Anna? "Your Majesty! Now!"

Anna watched as they grew nearer, threatening her and everyone else onboard. Was that it, her heroic rescue ruined by these cannon-happy morons? Suddenly she saw a blue glimmer shoot across the sky and the cannonballs shattered in mid-air. Crystals of ice and pieces of cannonball scattered themselves across the deck and splashed into the fjord. There were cheers and sighs of relief as they realised her Majesty had saved them.

"Your Majesty, your arm." Said one of her soldiers, concern lacing his voice. Elsa looked down to see that one of the swordsmen was a little more accurate than first thought, she had a gash on her upper left arm with blood running down to her wrist. In the heat of it all she hadn't even noticed and didn't feel any pain.

"I'm fine, just carry on." She said, shrugging it off. Bjorn was about to contradict but Elsa got there first. "I said I'm fine, Captain." She snapped.

"Alright, men. " He called. "Lets go."

Three ships. Three ships, each with over thirty men on. He had just watched her take down three ships of men in less than ten minutes. He couldn't believe his eyes. He was scared, he could feel his knees shaking, was this how he was going to die? By the hands of the dreaded Ice Witch. Was this where he met his maker? He didn't have time to think any more, fight or flight had kicked in and he knew he wanted to go down fighting.

"Men, cannons! We're taking this bitch down. Right now! If not just to save your own backsides then to avenge our brothers she's slain before us." His men roared in agreement and set themselves to reloading the cannons with fervour, their faces fresh with rage and their brutal eyes shining with bloodlust.

Elsa watched their cannon fire shoot into the air, they missed, her men were still learning how to simultaneously fire each cannon. They were getting there but she could see the enemy ship loading up their cannons too. She was sure, if she could, she would be sweating.

"We need to get closer." She said. Bjorn nodded in agreement and turned the ship around, the wind now pushing hard in their sails. He saw the captain of their other ship turn the boat so it could come around behind the Southern Isles' boat.

* * *

He felt no sympathy, no pain, he would kill them all if it meant he lived. He wasn't aware of the smaller ship creeping up behind them, his focus was the Queen. He watched her, her stoic expression, she seemed fearless but she had no idea what was coming, King Ulrich was going to have some fun with her...

He heard a yell and his head snapped around to see that the small Arendelle boat had slowly made it's way behind them without him noticing. The yell had been from one of his men attacking, spurring on the others to join him. He couldn't fight two boats at once. He felt panic rise in his chest as he watched the Arendellians cut down his men. The Southern Isles may have had better boats but it was obvious they needed to step up their training regime, even the Princess had managed to crack a few guys across the face. Before he knew it his boat was crowded with fighting men and the Queen's men were jumping off of their own boat too. He couldn't handle this. He was going to die. Right here. By the hands of traitors. He watched as that damn captain cut down his men. Arendelle's men were strong, determined, it seemed there was no stopping them now. Panicked, he ran to the edge of the ship, he looked down at the clear blue water of the fjord, so inviting. He was going to die. Either Ulrich would kill him for his incompetence or those filthy traitors would. The fjord seemed to offer a third, less painful option. He glanced back in time to see the last of his men fall, he watched them hit the floor, puddles of crimson. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself and stepped back, getting ready to throw himself into the icy depths- suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head and everything went black, the faint sound of voices faded into nothingness.

* * *

Bjorn felt he had done his job, the threat to Arendelle had been dealt with and the people were safe, he sent the Southern Isles boat back to the docks and he saw the castle guards coming to help with the injured and the captured. The Arendellian boats had both been destroyed, everyone had boarded the last surviving Southern Isles boat. He was guiding the boat back into the dock when he looked round in time to see her Majesty collapse, luckily one of his soldiers dropped his sword and caught her before she hit the deck. Her pale skin no longer looked just pale, it was a pallor, ghostly white. Blood soaked her sleeve.

"Elsa!" The Princess gasped, rushing to her sister's side.

"Get her inside, now!" Bjorn yelled. One of the guards took her limp, lithe body and ran back to the castle, the Princess and Ice Master in tow.

* * *

Anna sat watching. She was so nervous, she didn't even know what was wrong.

"Princess Anna, I'm glad to tell you that her Majesty will be fine, the wound isn't severe, there's been minimal blood loss, she's probably just exhausted. She'll be fine" Said the physician, packing away his equipment. "I'll be back to check in on her hourly." He left Anna and Kristoff with a curt smile and quietly closed the door behind him.

Anna smiled, she was so pleased that Elsa was going to be okay. She just needed some rest. The physician had cleaned and wrapped her arm in a bandage. She was going to be okay.

Anna waited and waited and waited but Elsa was still out. She couldn't leave her side for fear of her waking up alone and scared. Kristoff had stayed to keep her company whilst she watched over her sister's sleeping form. If she wasn't so eager to see her sister wake up she might've fallen asleep herself, it had been two and a half hours but it felt like forever.

Elsa could see nothing but darkness. She could hear nothing but heavy breathing and the occasional grunt. She felt nothing but sadness. Then all of a sudden, his face, emerald green eyes hovering over her face with that smirk that she hated so much. She screamed.

Elsa's scream scared her out of her daydream and Anna almost fell out of her seat.

Anna saw her sister was awake and if she didn't seem so distressed she would be smiling.

"Elsa, what's wrong?" Elsa, still fairly confused as to where she was and what was going on, looked around in fear, scared that those green eyes were hiding somewhere in this very room. "Elsa?" Came Anna's worried voice again, breaking her away from her own thoughts.

"He was here! He came back- he did it again and I...I couldn't move!" Was Elsa's frantic reply. Anna sat on the bed beside her and took her pale, shaking hand in hers.

"Listen, Elsa. I can't make it go away - what he did- but I can tell you that he's _never_ going to get the chance to do it again. Locked away down there in that dungeon, he isn't much of a threat to anyone, you know, he isn't ever getting out of there, not until you decide what you're doing with him." Elsa nodded, calming herself with deep slow breaths.

"He's not getting out. And if he tries, I might have to kill him _for_ you." Kristoff said.

* * *

He heard the door at the top of the stairs open and footsteps on their way down, many feet, at least five or six people, he guessed. The guard standing outside his cell turned to look too. Two guards and four prisoners with bandaging in some place or another, pretty badly beaten up. One with a broken nose, one with a bandage around his head. The others with black bruising all over their bodies and a few nasty gashes. They were split into twos, two per cell. Tomas watched with wide eyes as they were pushed and prodded into the cells like animals, this was the most interesting thing to happen down here for weeks.

The physician came as soon as he heard her Majesty was awake. He was checking her temperature, reflexes, everything, he couldn't afford to miss anything.

"So...is Elsa okay?" Anna asked, her eyes big and hopeful. He looked across to Anna and Kristoff then back to Elsa with a slight sympathy in his face.

"You're...you're pregnant."

* * *

 **A/N:** Sorry I've been gone a while, hope this long chappie makes up for it, I finished this at two o'clock this morning, I'm knackered. Hope you liked it, follows and reviews are much appreciated guys :)

-Fly :D


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: I didn't want to leave this for as log as I did last time but I am genuinely struggling- I know where I want the story to go, what I want to happen but I'm finding it difficult to build the bridges that will take you to the end. I will update as often as possible but bear with me, I'll get there. Sorry this one is short but it has something good in, have fun guys.**

!I **Don't Own Frozen!**

* * *

"What do you mean they haven't returned?!" Ulrich growled making the young Royal Messenger flinch.

"I'm sorry your Majesty, I...that's all the sailors at the docks told me. They said the boat should have been back a few days ago but there is no sign of them. They didn't say- I wasn't give any other information." He replied, trembling at the anger rising in Ulrich's face.

"I see, tell them I want a search boat sent out." Ulrich said forcing himself to calm down. "Then I want another push forward, triple the men, triple the boats. I will kill her, it is predestined. The Gods wish that she dies by my hand."

"Yes, your Majesty." The Messenger bowed and turned towards the large mahogany doors.

"Now!" Ulrich yelled. The messenger boy jumped with fright then set off at running speed.

* * *

Anna lay beside Kristoff in their chambers, she couldn't sleep. Kristoff had already stayed up late with her, he had fallen asleep about five minutes into their baby naming conversation so she felt it rude to wake him. She stood up and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders. She needed to go for a walk, even if was only up and down the corridor a few times. With as much grace as she could, she made her way to the door and closed it behind her as quietly as possible.

In the corridor she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She knew it was still a long way off but she was excited and nervous to be bringing a child into the world. Funnily enough, Anna had never imagined it would turn out this way. Married to an ice harvester not a Prince. It might be weird to other people but, to her, nothing else would feel right, she loved him so. So much so that she hadn't told anyone their biggest secret, only she and Kristoff knew. She had been carrying this baby for longer than anyone else knew. Two months before the wedding, Elsa had gone away to talk trade and proposals with one of their neighbouring kingdoms. Anna had asked Kristoff to come over the night after Elsa left, it was lonely without her, even lonelier than before The Great Thaw. At least she knew Elsa was in her room before, now she wasn't even in the castle, or in Arendelle. Things took a turn and one thing led to another, as they do, and voilà...baby in her belly. She hadn't told Elsa for fear of her sister's reaction and now it seemed Elsa had her own baby problems to worry about. The Royal Physician had told her just last week that she was pregnant. There was no other culprit, it had to be Tomas' child she was carrying. Anna knew she was devastated, she had tried to comfort her but she felt like Elsa was drifting away into denial.

There was another letter, Elsa told her, it just said that they would be back, about half a dozen sentences, but his point was crystal clear:

 _I know you sit, content in your castle, thinking you have won but mark my words witch, we will be back. We will kill every soul in Arendelle if that is what it takes to rid the kingdom of your rule. You are nothing but a monster, a vile stain in Arendelle's bloodline, a black smudge of ink across a perfectly scribed page, spreading, bleeding through the pages, ruining the entire book._

 _I am telling you now Ice Witch, that was just the beginning, you had your chance to come quietly. I will kill you._

Elsa may not have said much after reading but Anna could tell she was shaken, this guy was crazy. She didn't know what was coming but she knew it was going to test Elsa's strength as both a ruler and a person.

Anna knew that Ulrich's men would be back soon. The attack last week was just the beginning. Bjorn had told her that the men would get bigger and better, faster and fitter. He had assured Elsa and herself that he would do all he could to ready his men for any upcoming attacks on both land and water. She knew Kristoff worried; The Southern Isles attacking had been a fear of his since The Great Thaw. These attacks had only exacerbated his night terrors. He was having them every night and Anna herself had begun to fret. Both Elsa and Kristoff were incredibly emotionally stressed by the thought of the Southern Isles coming back. Anna was too but she tried not to think about it too much, sometimes her imagination would run away and she didn't like where it took her, she thought up all sorts of terrible things but she had to push it to the back of her mind, she had to remain confident that her sister and the Captain were going to save them. She tried to remain optimistic as always but she had a foreboding feeling of fear and sadness, like she knew something bad was going to happen just not what or when.

* * *

It had been too long, Elsa wasn't going to come to her senses and release him. He said he loved her, he showed her he loved her, he didn't know what else he could have done. So instead he sat on the cold floor, staring out of a tiny window. He wondered if he could ever break out of here. He could if he could get hold of the key to his cell. But there was only one key and that was handed over to the next guard at every watch. Alone he could never do it but if he had a distraction maybe he could pull it off. Not yet though, the guards were still on high alert due to the new prisoners from the Southern Isles attack. _Soon._ He told himself.

* * *

Alone. She sat alone. Well that was a lie, if one was being particularly cruel they would remind her that in fact she was not alone. She was in the company of another. One that she wished away but to do such a thing was a sin and she did not want to sin any more than she already had. Deep inside she ached to be rid of this thing inside of her but there was no cure.

Sometimes she could have sworn someone was whispering, a faint voice on the wind. She stood and walked over to the balcony doors. The moon in the sky. The whisper on the wind. The pain in her chest. Her hand on the glass. Cold. Quiet. Cruel. She let it spread from her hand across the pane, diverging into a multitude of icy paths. Under her own snow, she stared out into the night and she wept.

* * *

 **A/N: So, I am sorry it's a shortie but I've yet to work out how I'm going to make this storyline progress the way I want it to. Hope you enjoyed this little chappie, I will have another up soon, thanks for reading guys, much appreciated. Reviews are also appreciated, any feedback is great, I look forward to any comments you guys have and hope you will share your opinion on this story thus far.**

 **-Fly :p**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Hey, another update, just felt like writing today I guess, I think I have worked out how to get where I am going with this story, just hang on, hopefully it's as enjoyable for you guys as it is for me.**

 **I DON'T OWN FROZEN**

 _One week later..._

Anna sat and listened, a rare sight indeed. She listened with Kristoff by her side, they held each other's hand and they listened.

"Your Highness, I believe that you and the baby are perfectly healthy at this stage, I do not think there is cause for concern. You have nothing to worry about. A little cramp is all it was I believe, nothing to cause alarm, I assure you." The Royal Physician replied with a smile as he packed away his medical instruments.

Anna allowed herself a smile. She turned to Kristoff and found that he too was smiling, their minds at rest now.

"Though, I must say, I find one thing most unusual..." He began. Anna's eyes widened in fear and her grip tightened on Kristoff's hand. "You see, upon my examination of your body I found one thing that I cannot explain..." He added with a slight narrowing of the eyes.

"What? What's wrong? Is it bad?" Kristoff blurted with worry in his voice. He cast Anna and Kristoff a look that a parent might give a naughty child, eyebrow slightly raised.

"Your Highness, I mean not to offend but I presume that you know why I was appointed the Royal Physician, yes?" He asked with knowing glance at her partner. Anna's brow furrowed and her mouth opened slightly.

"Dr Sorenson, will you just tell us what's wrong with our baby?" She replied impatiently, her tone one of concern. The physician cast her a small smile that did nothing but confuse the Princess.

"Your highness, I was carefully selected from many to take the position of the Royal Family's Physician because I am extremely good at what I do. I am not be the best and nor do I claim to be but I do know a thing or two. I know that you are lying to me. I know this baby is more developed than you are leading me to believe. So, of course, I know that this baby was conceived outside of your marriage." He said with a straight face and a deep, quiet, flat tone. Anna stared at him for a few seconds, her mouth open. Kristoff stared, he looked between Anna and the physician, he didn't know who to look at, he didn't know what to do, oh Gods what was he going to do? Surely he would tell Elsa of his discovery and they would have to face the consequences of their actions.

"But...I- I mean...what are you going to do, will you tell Elsa?" She stammered, trying to get her mouth to form words.

"Not unless you wish me to do so." He replied calmly, as if it were obvious. Anna was taken back by his answer and saw Kristoff raise his head out of the corner of her eye.

"Why not?" She asked, clearly surprised.

"As a physician, I swear by the Hippocratic Oath. The Oath states that I must share nothing if it 'be what should not be published, I will never divulge, holding such things to be holy secrets.' I cannot share anything without your permission, which I am _sure_ you are _eager_ to give." He said softly, with a warmness in his expression. Anna felt her mouth fall open and Kristoff watched as a smile grew on her face. His own spirits were lifted by the words he had just heard but he sensed more was coming.

"So, she doesn't need to know?" Anna asked. "You won't tell her?" She added hopefully. Sorenson hung his head and was silent for a short moment before replying.

"However. I am sworn to another. The Royal Medical Protection oath, this states that I must inform the current ruling monarch of anything to do with my work, should they come to me and inquire. Whilst I do not believe this will affect you negatively in any physical aspect of your pregnancy, I do think it is possible that the burden of withholding this information from your sister could eventually cause distress and possibly complications. The Queen does not need to know as of yet. Though I must tell you, the moment she asks for information, I am powerless to resist, I cannot withhold _anything_ that I deem crucial. I am required to give it, _without hesitation_." He added, his tone serious and slightly sharp, his eyes hard and his posture rigid. Anna nodded, understanding that should Elsa enquire about this check up, Dr Sorenson was required to tell her everything he knows by law else he would be committing a crime against the Royal family and would be punished accordingly.

"I understand." Anna replied, her face resembling that of child caught with her hand in the cookie jar. Kristoff squeezed her hand and cleared his throat.

"Does this mean that... you won't discuss this check up with the Queen unless she asks you about it specifically? You won't go bringing it up... you know, out of the blue?" He asked cautiously. Sorenson gave a small smile and nodded.

"I will not purposely attract attention to the subject, no. But as I said, if she is to ask me for any details regarding this meeting, I, by law _and_ as a man of loyalty, am required to divulge all I know." Sorenson replied. Anna turned to look at Kristoff and smiled then turned back to face the physician.

"Thank you, Mr Sorenson, I appreciate your help, we both do." She said. Sorensen bowed his head respectfully then stood, retrieved his case of instruments and left without another word.

Elsa was pacing again he noticed. He saw her brows furrow in frustration but frustration at what he did not know. He just watched. He sat on the floor of her study and observed the Queen as she walked the same five steps again and again, back and forth, back and forth. She stopped abruptly and stared into the empty space in front of her, he could see the ticking of her brain, the intensity of her thoughts, she then began pacing again.

"Elsa, are you okay?" He asked. His tone childishly innocent. He cocked his head to the side slightly as it seemed she had not heard him. "Elsa? Elsa? What's wrong?" He asked again, this time a hint of worry coating his soft voice. She stopped, turned, looked him in the eye.

"Nothing is wrong Olaf, I...I just need to think...I can't...what are you doing in here, I thought you were going out with Kristoff and Sven?" She replied with an air of annoyance. The snowman pushed his carrot nose up before he got to his feet. He shrugged his little twig arms.

"Kristoff said he was busy. Sven's taking a nap. He doesn't like to be disturbed during his naps, he gets a little cranky, you know?" Olaf chuckled and then made his way over to Elsa, standing beside her. "Elsa...can I ask you something?" Elsa did a double take, one minute he was talking about Sven's nap and now he seemed all serious and sombre.

"Of course, Olaf what is it?"

"I know something isn't right. I can feel it." He said. Elsa's eyebrows raised, she met the snowman's eyes.

"What do you mean 'not right'?" She asked, concerned as to what her little snowy companion believed he knew. Olaf looked around the room for a moment, trying to find the right way to express his concern.

"Elsa, I know something is making you sad. I can feel it because you made me, inside me is a part of you and when you're sad I know you're sad. But I don't know why." He said, looking up at his friend innocently, with curiosity in his eyes.

"Olaf...I- I am just very stressed right now because King Ulrich is a very big threat to Arendelle. I need to work out a way to protect Arendelle and most nights... well, I usually stay up late with Captain Bjorn, discussing training regimes. It is very long and very stressful, I'm just concerned for Arendelle's safety. But I'm fine." Elsa replied. Olaf gave her an unconvinced look but then said.

"Oh, right...and you're sure that's all?" Elsa cast him a slightly annoyed glance and turned her back to him. She sat at her desk and let out a sigh.

"Yes Olaf. I am perfectly fine." Came her terse reply. Just as Olaf was about to say something there was a quiet yet curt knock at the study door.

"Come in." Elsa called, turning her attention to the door. Kai opened the door hesitantly.

"Your Majesty, I bring a message from the councillors, they wish to meet with you as soon as possible." He said. Elsa frowned.

"Did they imply the purpose of this meeting?"

"Just that it was in your best interest to attend, Your Majesty." Kai replied softly, he knew her Majesty was not fond of being told what was 'in her best interest' but that is what the council ordered him to tell her. A single eyebrow rose and Elsa stood from her seat with an expression of disbelief.

"Tell me Kai, why do they believe it is 'in my best interest' to be constantly interrupted whilst trying to stop the kingdom from falling apart? Do they have any idea the stress they put me under, surely they realise that I cannot afford to be distracted with trivial matters." Elsa snapped. Kai bowed his head respectfully.

"I do not know Your Majesty. And though I do not know the subject of the meeting, I believe it seems to be one of great weight and of a highly important nature. One you should strongly consider attending." He said. Elsa knew that Kai wouldn't lie to her, he was one of her most trusted members of staff, she knew that if he believed the meeting to be important, then it likely was.

Kai opened the great oak doors to the throne room where the councillors waited. Elsa now realised the importance of this meeting, they were quiet and an air of awkwardness followed her arrival. Kai quietly left the throne room and closed the doors behind him.

"I hate to rush you, councillors but I have other matters to attend to, could we make this quick?" Elsa said as she sat at the head of the table. There were a few nervous looks shared between them as she waited for someone to stand. After a moment Councillor Henning stood and cleared his throat.

"Your Majesty. There is something we have been meaning to discuss with you for a while. This is something we have taken time to discuss amongst ourselves and have unanimously decided that this decision is what is best for Arendelle."

"That is lovely. Can we get to the point?" Elsa sighed and cocked an eyebrow. Henning took a breath and looked around the table, receiving nods from his fellow councillors. He then adjusted his collar and proceeded to explain.

"We, as the council of Arendelle, make decisions that are in Arendelle's best interest. Please, keep this in mind as I continue." Elsa suddenly felt that this was something that she wasn't going to like one bit. "Your Majesty...we have decided that due to your...due to the fact that you are pregnant..."

Those words made Elsa's eyes widen and her jaw tighten. She didn't want to hear that word, the fact that they said it made it real and she wanted to avoid that for as long as she possibly could. Elsa felt her fingers tingle, she adjusted her position in her seat and signalled for Henning to continue.

"To protect Arendelle, we have come to the conclusion that...that a marriage is the best course of action."

 **A/N: Well, looks like Elsa is in a bit of a pickle... Really hope you enjoyed your read through this chapter. Feedback is much appreciated, I would love to hear opinions in the reviews, tell me what you thought guys.**

 **\- Fly :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter, I was told that there are a couple of questions unanswered that a few of you might be wondering about:**

 **Why doesn't Elsa have an abortion? Well, from what I've heard about back in the times before modern day abortions they were sometimes painful and often dangerous to the mother. So, if they can help it, the council wants to keep their Queen in the best health possible. Also, I have tried to integrate a little religion into this story, not so much that you feel oberwhelmed but just enough to convey the idea that Arendelle is religious. And as far as I know/ have heard, in most religions, abortion is a big no-no. - I don'tmean to offend anyone with this, this is just what I have heard, sorry if I got any of that wrong...**

 **Why didn't Elsa torture and/or kill Tomas ages ago? We all know that Elsa doesn't want to be a killer. Also, she is still very shaken up about the whole ordeal and I think she would want time to come to terms with what has happened before all that takes place.**

 **I DO NOT OWN FROZEN!**

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"Marriage?" Elsa asked, her lips parted slightly. She looked around at the councillors, each and every one of them, none of them could meet her eyes. The slightest snow began to fall, no-one dared comment or even look up.

"Your Majesty, please we mean no disrespect-" Henning began. Elsa cast him a look that made him wince.

"No disrespect? Oh no, what's disrespectful about saying you have arranged a marriage behind my back?! Did you even consider the fact that we are at war with the Southern Isles, the fact that I have more important things to worry about?!" Elsa yelled. Henning averted his gaze and adjusted his collar.

"Your Majesty, w-we just thought... that you would need the support. And we believe that, if this child is to be born...then- then if it is done under the guise of a marriage...this way, the child... seems legitimate at least." Elsa's mind was racing, she felt heat rising in her cheeks, surely she was as red as a tomato. She felt completely powerless, like they had pulled the carpet from beneath her feet.

"You...I- I just don't understand. You seriously believe that _this_ is the best course of action? I cannot believe that you would all be so inconsiderate."

"Your Majesty we do not wish to upset you and we have your needs at the very top of our list-"

"-I don't mean consideration for myself! I meant for this poor child, for Arendelle, the lies that you wish to feed them are disgusting." Elsa said sadly. There was a slight murmuring among the councillors for a moment or two before one of them piped up again. This time it was Sivertsen, a withered face like old leather and his voice croaky and slow, like a frog on its death bed.

"There is one other option, your Majesty." He said slowly, pushing his spectacles up his long, bony nose with a long, bony finger. Elsa didn't need to hear any more to know what he meant. She felt her stomach churn and her heart drop. What a vulgar thing to say. She had thought about it before but had always admonished herself for even thinking such a thing. But to say it! Aloud! As a genuine suggestion. Elsa's eyes narrowed and her fists clenched. She disliked him a fair bit, he was the oldest member of the council, the only remaining from the council of her father's rule. The pompous old man believed he was far more knowledgable than any of the others and carried an air of narcissism. But she had yet to find someone who could manage their docks like he could, so for the moment, he was staying.

"I cannot believe that you would suggest such a thing." She shook her head slightly in disbelief. Elsa stood, she held onto the edge of the table and closed her eyes for a moment. She took a deep breath, then another., opened her eyes. She was trying to see things from their point of view but she was angered by their secrecy. "Why is it that you wish to have me married, it won't change the fact that this child is that of a _vile_ man. It won't change the fact that I can't look myself in the mirror any more, it won't change how _I_ feel about the child so what is the _point_?" She asked sharply.

"We only wish that you do not go through these hard times alone. And, your Majesty, though I know you don't wish to hear it, you will soon become much more vulnerable. If we are to protect Arendelle from the Southern Isles then we all need you to be strong. I think..., what Henning was trying to say, is that with a spouse would come both support for yourself and the promise of arms. If we can make a valuable connection with a neighbouring kingdom then we have more chance of winning this war and protecting the kingdom. With this decision we are putting the kingdom first and we strongly recommend that you do consider this marriage if you wish to put them first too." Came the voice of Brekke, one of the two female members on the council. The room was silent. Elsa scanned the faces of each councillor, they all seemed concerned, they all looked like they were genuinely trying to help her make the best choice for Arendelle.

Brekke was the first to meet her eyes, she then looked to Henning, then Sivertsen, Larson, perhaps they _were_ all just looking out for her and Arendelle. Perhaps they were not the political pigs she previously believed them to be. She took a moment to process everything that had just been said. If she were to agree to this then she would need to know details, to blindly agree would be foolish.

"If I were to agree...I would like to know...who exactly did you have in mind?" Elsa replied. The councillors all shared a look, they were not sure that her Majesty would even consider but now it seemed that she was just the slightest bit interested.

"We know that earlier this year you visited Urvea. We contacted them last week and received a reply this morning. The King and Queen have many sons." Henning said, handing Elsa an envelope with the blue wax seal of Urvea. Elsa took the envelope, opened it and removed the letter. She read aloud and carefully, knowing that with Urvea, there was likely a catch to the deal.

 _Dear Queen Elsa of Arendelle,_

 _It is with the kindest regards that I write this letter. My wife and I have recently heard the news of your unfortunate situation. Our hearts bleed for you, a kind young woman like yourself does not deserve such a thing. We hope that we can offer some semblance of support._

 _We have been informed that you wish for our help, not only to father your child but to put up arms against the Southern Isles. There is no love loss between them and ourselves, we would readily fight with you should you agree to the remainder of our offer. My wife and I have been lucky enough to have seven sons, we don't see the harm in sharing a little. We would be willing to offer our middle son as a potential suitor and offer our men as aid in the war against the Southern Isles._

 _So, Queen Elsa, I offer you this: Marriage to my middle son and our aid in the war in return for your commitment to our kingdom. I request just two things: The first, a trade deal in which we give you nineteen percent of our crop yield every two months in return for 25 percent of your timber yield a month, as you know the woodlands are very sparse and damaged since our tremendous storm just a few months ago. And the second, a favour that will call upon at a later date. Now, I know this sounds selfish on my part, you may think I am taking advantage of a bad situation but trust me. I sincerely believe both Arendelle and Urvea will benefit from our commitment to each other._

 _Depending on when you receive this letter, my son Gabriel will be, at most, two days away from arrival in your kingdom. I hope that the two of you will get along, I know he hopes to impress you and though I may be slightly biased, I think he is a fit and fine young man worthy of, at least, your consideration as a partner. He is kind and considerate and I know he looks forward to meeting you. I completely trust that he will act in an appropriate and proper manner due to this being such an auspicious visit. I can only hope he makes a good impression, I'm hoping we can strike a deal and that it will result in a long and prosperous relationship between our two families._

 _Regards, The King and Queen of Urvea_

Elsa just stared at the letter for a few moments. This was real. Her council had really reached out to another kingdom, on her behalf, and requested a partnership between herself and one of their sons. But she had come to see their point. She would soon be unable to leave the castle with a child on its way. It would soon be painfully obvious that it was more than a little extra weight and there would be many questions, many looks of disgust, many judging her for something that she didn't mean to happen. This marriage seemed to be a solution. Not an ideal one, but was, all in all, not a terrible idea. At least this way the child would not be born without a real father, without the support of a second parent. Elsa knew this was probably the best thing for Arendelle, the baby and herself.

"Though I am not thrilled at the fact that you contacted Urvea without my permission, I feel that you did it in my own and Arendelle's best interest and I do appreciate that. We will see if Prince Gabriel is worth the merit his father gives him. However, something tells me this 'deal' is non-negotiable, we either accept or we don't. Brekke, import, export and inventory is your area of work, do we have the timber to spare?"

"Our timber supply is healthy at the moment, the numbers look promising. I am quite sure we would be able to meet that criteria. I will instruct my men to begin putting a small amount of timber aside to, hopefully, get a head start on it."

"Councillor Henning, this... plan to wed me to the Prince of Urvea... does this affect the rights of the child? If we are to claim that it is his child and that it was conceived by two people of a lawful marriage then it would certainly look suspicious should they not inherit the throne when the time comes to do so." Elsa said, raising her eyebrow slightly when she saw the cogs in Henning's brain haul into overdrive. He looked around at his fellow councillors and they exchanged many odd expressions. Elsa waited, gave him a moment to wrap his head around the question, almost enjoying the slightly pained look on his face. Larson raised his hand.

"May I, your Majesty?" Larson asked. Elsa gave a curt nod in his direction. "I think it should." The seven other councillors all turned to face him and Elsa was surprised at what he was suggesting. "Don't you agree, if this marriage takes place and the public believes the baby is legitimate then why can't it be? I don't see why her Majesty should not be able to decide for herself whether or not this child has any calling to the throne." He added. Sivertsen was shaking his head but the rest of the councillors were quiet, still processing what they had just heard. A few looks were exchanged, some of interest, some of confusion.

"Larson, are you suggesting that we completely disregard the rules? That we should allow a child of impure blood to eventually ascend to the throne?" Sivertsen expressed his disapproval through the tone of his voice. "That would go against the entire Arendellian bloodline, which has been pure for a lot longer than even the oldest of men can remember."

"But to keep the child from the throne would reveal the truth, it would make this whole thing a waste of time, if we are to start on this path then we must follow it to the end and if that means this child ends up King or Queen then that is what will happen." Said Henning. Sivertsen frowned, his face twisted into a foul expression, like one was sucking lemons, and he replied:

"That is ridiculous, to taint the bloodline would show complete disregard for all the rulers that came before."

"Sivertsen, we can do one of two things, there is no compromise." Brekke began. " We can either give this child the chance to one day become ruler or we can follow the old ways and reveal the truth to the people, there is no other way. I'm sure we would all rather we didn't have to make this decision but the world is cruel but as we know, sometimes men can be crueller. As of this moment, it is just a question of what is better for our Queen and for Arendelle. What the people don't know will not hurt them." She added. Sivertsen cast Brekke a degrading look, it was clear what his opinion was but it seemed that his fellow councillors disagreed.

"I say we take a vote." Henning said, the councillors agreed. "Which of us think giving the child the right to the throne is absurd?" Sivertsen raised his hand. "And which of us would be willing to bend the rules of old this once and allow the child a claim to the throne, should her Majesty wish to do so?" seven hands including his own.

All of a sudden, Sivertsen slammed his bony fist down on the table.

"This is madness! You can't do this, it...it's wrong. That child cannot be allowed to rule over Arendelle! What would the Gods think if we let a disgusting bastard chi-"

"-How dare you!" Elsa growled, ice shot across the table in sharp, violent spikes. The other councillors moved back in their seats. "I didn't want any of this! I never wanted this to happen but I am dealing with the consequences! You, on the other hand, have no idea what I've been through and yet you feel you can judge this child and myself with out fault. I want what is best for Arendelle too but sacrifices have to be made in order to protect the reputation of the monarchy. If that sacrifice is pure blood then so be it because I don't want to disgrace my family any more than I already have. So you see why I think a small lie for the sake of generations of grief is necessary."

Sivertsen just stared, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, words failing him.

"I...I-Your majesty... I jus-" He stammered, his eyes wide with fear. Elsa cast him a withering look as the ice retraced its path up the long oak table. At least he would be silent for now. She turned to Henning.

"If the majority ruling of this council is that we should allow the right to the throne then I believe we should. I trust that you all have Arendelle's future in mind by agreeing to this. If there is nothing else to discuss then I-"

"-Actually, your Majesty, there is one other thing." Brekke cut in. Henning looked at Brekke with wide eyes. He knew what she was going to say, they had been discussing it just after they sent the letter of to Urvea. "If a marriage is to take place," Elsa gave her a nod and signalled for her to continue. "then we...we will need to cut all the loose ends. We can't have Tomas escaping and revealing what he did." Elsa cringed at the use of his name but Brekke was right, if Tomas somehow escaped and told anyone it would surely cause uproar.

"So, what is it that you had in mind to prevent that... problem?" She asked. Elsa steeled herself for the answer, knowing she would like what she heard one bit. Brekke took a breath and a quick glance at Henning, knowing that she had to tell her.

"You need to execute him."

Elsa looked at Brekke with wide, almost sad eyes. She wanted to hurt Tomas, make him pay for what he did, but execute him? That is what she should have done about two and a half months ago but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. To take a life.

"Execute him. O...okay, yes, execute him but...but what for? We can't have him killed for rape, it will destroy the base of this marriage idea. People would start to ask questions."

"Murder, theft, violent behaviour, trading stolen goods...anything, its your decision." Brekke replied. Elsa nodded her head slightly, taking it all in. She thought for a moment, what should he be executed for? Murder seemed too ironic, seeing as he hadn't taken a life but had created one. She couldn't think of anything fitting of such a man except theft, a justice of sorts. He is guilty of theft, he took something from her without her permission, though it may not have been a physical object that he stole, it was still stolen from her.

"I want him executed for theft. For- for stealing from the Royal family." Elsa replied, her voice cracked a little and she felt her throat tighten but she knew he deserved it for all he had done.

Brekke nodded as did Henning and Larson, along with Calland, Rodberg, Torvik and Valen.

"So he will be executed for the crime of theft." Valen began. She stood then continued: "Your Majesty, of course, you know the tradition. If Tomas is to be executed then you must be the one to deliver the final strike." Valen knew this was why the Queen had waited so long to agree to an execution.

"Yes, I know. They who pass the sentence should swing the sword." Elsa replied flatly. Valen looked to Torvik as he cleared his throat and stood.

"Your Majesty, we could have someone else do it if it would please you. You don't have to do this."

"No, if someone else did it then it would show a connection between him and myself, it would raise suspicion. I need to be the one to do it." Elsa said, her tone a mixture of anger and sadness.

"It is settled then, but when? That would be your area of expertise wouldn't it Torvik?" Valen asked. Torvik pondered for a moment. He knew that the execution would have to take place sooner rather than later if Elsa were to do it herself.

"In two days, that's the soonest we could do it." He said.

"Agreed, two days it is." Said Elsa with a stoic expression. She would have to mentally prepare herself for that day but hopefully it would bring her some peace to know that he was gone.

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 **A/N: Yes I stole that line from Game of Thrones. I just love the idea that if you want to execute someone then you have to have the bottle to do it yourself. I also think it is fitting that Elsa gets to kill Tomas after all he has done to her, it seems only fair that she gets to lop his head off, right? So... how about that letter from Urvea...Will Gabriel make a good impression. Will Elsa open up or will she remain distant? Will she have the guts to give Tomas the chop? Will I stop asking rhetorical questions? Maybe... Hope you enjoyed this chappie, write a review if your feeling it, any opinions, anything you wanna let me know, go ahead. Thanks for reading guys.**

 **-Fly :/**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Hey guys, another chapter for you here, this one should be (I hope) quite interesting to read. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the emotions of each character in each scene, I hope that shows when you read it through.**

 **Thanks to our most recent reviewers** **Amateraszu, FrozenStories and alvinandbrittany4ever for taking the time to both read and review the previous chapter. WARNING this chapter gets a little gruesome towards the end and also there is a crude little joke from Kristoff in there somewhere too...**

 **!I DON'T OWN FROZEN!**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter, thanks for reading.**

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 _Two days later_...

A few hushed whispers during guard change overs and he had a plan set up with the other prisoners rather quickly. They would distract the guard and he would nab the keys.

They waited and waited until the time was right but eventually it came. They distracted the guard. Tomas carefully lifted the keys from his belt whilst he had his back turned. Then he waited until the guard walked down the long corridor of cells all the way to the end, he would check each cell on the way back up, meaning Tomas had about sixty seconds to figure out which key was the one he needed. He could feel the eyes of the other prisoners on him, just as desperate and anxious as he was to get out. He had promised to free them all as soon as he dealt with the guard, if they helped him retrieve the keys. And they had. _Click._ He had no time to celebrate his little victory. Opening the cell as quietly and as quickly as he could, he looked to his left, the guard still had his back to him. Clueless. Catching the eye of one of his fellow cell mates made Tomas reconsider their deal, these buffoons were useless, there was no point breaking them out. Also, Tomas was never really one for keeping his word. He smirked and turned to run, he would be faster on his own anyway. Big mistake.

"Oi, he's making a run for it- Get him!" His scorned 'friend' screamed. The guard shot round like lightning, he saw Tomas running towards the spiral staircase and rushed after him.

"Prisoner trying to escape!" He yelled to his comrade at the top of the stairs but he was too late, Tomas flew past him and was gone like a shot before the guard could even react to the warning. They chased him as he sprinted down the castle hallways but he was just that little bit faster than them. They fell further behind as the chase continued.

Tomas felt his heart racing, faster than his feet were running. He took a left turn and then a sharp right, he had to lose them if he was going to be free. He kept running, his legs were beginning to tire but he knew that desperate men could not afford to be tired. He needed to keep running, as long as he could run, he had a chance of escaping. He turned left onto a corridor that led to a room full of paintings, he dared a glance over his shoulder, caught a glimpse of Joan of Arc and the pair of guards still at the other end of the hall. He knew this was his chance, with this distance between them he would be able to turn a couple of corners and lose them.

Sprinting through the corridors he wondered why there were no other guards patrolling the hallways and as he turned a corner he heard voices, many loud voices. His ears perked up, he was an animal being hunted and them the loud, angry hunters. Then the footsteps, running, getting closer. Tomas turned right and continued down a long hall turning right again at the end, he was lucky he had worked in this castle for a while otherwise he would have been lost by now. He saw guards come round the corner ahead and took a sharp left, hoping they hadn't seen him.

Bjorn was on his way to alert the rest of his men from the barracks, Tomas was not going to escape. Bjorn knew his escape would only mean bad news. Who knows who he would tell, what trouble he could cause.

Bjorn was running and went to turn the corner when he collided with someone coming the other way. Both of them were knocked to the ground, both dazed by their collision. It took a few seconds for Bjorn's head to clear and for the world to stop spinning but when it did he met emerald eyes. Tomas tried to scramble to his feet but Bjorn lurched forwards and managed to grab his ankle, resulting in Tomas smashing his face into the floor. There was a cry of pain and a slight hesitation. Tomas tried to stand but the world was slanted and his head was pounding. He managed to get to his feet but Bjorn was on him, he held him tight with strength akin to a bears, preventing him from using his arms to break free. Bjorn held Tomas tight, knowing that if he escaped then it would result in chaos.

Tomas struggled against Bjorn's hold but he was too strong. He kicked, he squirmed, he wriggled, he writhed, he tried so hard but there was no way Bjorn was going to let go. He yelled for someone to come help, hoping there was someone nearby the could help him control Tomas.

"I hate you. You bastard, why can't I just go!? I just wanna see my family, is that too much to ask?" Tomas growled, still squirming in Bjorn's arms. Bjorn let out a slight chuckle.

"You have no idea do you? Your family is gone Tomas, they don't want you any more." The struggling paused for a moment whilst Tomas listened, letting this strange news sink into his frantic brain. He face screwed up in confusion, he didn't understand.

"...what... what do you mean ' _gone_ '? Where are they- wh-what have you done to them?!" Shouted Tomas, his greasy ebony hair sticking to the sweat on his face.

"The Queen helped them see who you really are. They know what you did and they don't want any part of you, not Astrid and definitely not your boys. They despise you, so they all left Arendelle... without you." Bjorn replied, adjusting his hold on his prisoner. Tomas resumed his squirming, anger in his eyes.

"You're lying, you sick bastard, why would they leave, they need me? Astrid can't support them on her own, she's a useless bitch!" He screamed, his breaths heavy and eyes wide. He grunted and growled but failed to break Bjorn's hold.

"Queen Elsa gave them quite the parting gift, I hear. Enough to build decent lives for themselves." At that moment Bjorn heard footsteps rushing down the hall, he heard the voices of his men as they approached. "Times up, today is the day."

"For what?" Bjorn just chuckled. Bjorn let go and guards took Tomas by the arms. "What do you mean, what's happening?" Tomas asked, frantically trying to break free once more.

"You'll see." Tomas' brow creased in anger at the older man's infuriatingly vague response.

* * *

Elsa was stood in the middle of her study, Anna sat at the desk and Kristoff stood beside her. Elsa took a breath and examined the large sword in her hands, it had recently been sharpened. It stared back at her reminding her of the grim task at hand. She looked over to Anna and Kristoff, whether seeking comfort or advice, she did not know. She just needed to know they were there.

"Elsa...you...you are doing what's right and... and it's so brave. I'm glad that you made a decision but you don't have to do it if you don't want to." Anna said sadly. Elsa met her gaze and smiled a sad smile, her eyes were tainted with sadness and, Anna thought, guilt.

"But Anna... I can't help but feel... responsible in a way. If I had just told him to _go away_ \- fired him and told him to _leave_ Arendelle...maybe- maybe none of this wouldn't have happened, I wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe I wouldn't have ruined his life and his marriage. Maybe... it's _me_ that deserves to be punished...I just can't help but think that... I shouldn't do it. But then at the same time...I-I want to. I want to kill him but I feel like this is _my_ fault too and- and because of that...I feel that I shouldn't." She replied, turning the sword in the beaming sunlight that refracted delicately through the window pane. Elsa looked up at Anna and frowned, her heart was heavy and she could no longer tell right from wrong, was it truly Tomas that she should be blaming? "Does he deserve it, is what I'm asking?" She asked, now unsure of Tomas' guilt.

Anna knew Elsa was struggling with all this, she knew Elsa wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. But to Anna that just proved it was absolutely, the exact, obvious reason why it was most certainly the right thing to do! Who would agonise so much over whether their rapist deserved to be punished? Who would begin to question his guilt after all he had done to them? Who would, even for a split second, ever consider that it may have been their own fault and that it was actually them that need to be punished? _Elsa, that's who_. Elsa was the kind of selfless person who blamed herself for everything even when there was no blame for her to take. Anna could see how years of isolation had shaped Elsa into the guilt-ridden, self-recriminating person she is. For all those years, Elsa had believed that their separation was entirely her own fault and it wasn't. But she was just a scared little girl who had been told that she needed to be kept away to ensure the safety of others because everything was her fault and would continue to be her fault unless she learnt to control herself. For so long Elsa had told herself that she needed to be perfect and that if she wasn't she would hurt people and it would be all her fault again, Anna saw how this sense of self-blame lingered and made Elsa feel guilty even though she most definitely was not to blame.

"Of course he does, don't you ever doubt that." Said Kristoff sharply. He bowed his head respectfully then looked Elsa in the eyes, his amber orbs conveyed his empathy and his anger. He knew she doubted her innocence but there was no reason why Tomas wouldn't have known that what he did was wrong. Elsa nodded silently but she still seemed unconvinced of her innocence.

"Elsa, I know I haven't known you for very long but... from what I do know... well, you- you're one of the kindest people I've ever met, little frosty on the outside, excuse the pun, but I've seen that you're warm and kind and loving on the inside. There is no way that ass doesn't know that this is his fault, he knows and he wants you to blame yourself, he wants you to feel guilty so that you'll let him off scot free. But you can't Elsa because this guy...he's just- he's -Gods, he makes me angry! He's making you feel guilty, and you're not. What he did was _disgusting_ and he deserves to be punished in the worst way imaginable. He's just lucky that you're not most people... because most people wouldn't have been so kind as to just _kill_ him. What you're giving him is a quiet, less painful death that, in my opinion, he doesn't _deserve._ But to do it any other way isn't you, is it? I know you just want him gone and I respect that and I support that, he deserves _all_ of this and more, don't you ever question his guilt because he _knew_... He knew that was wrong and yet he didn't care, he deserves to die Elsa." Kristoff added, surprising even himself with his emotional words. It wasn't often he spoke at length about anything but this was important, Elsa needed to know that Tomas had to get what was coming to him if she was ever going to start healing. Elsa and Anna shared a look, both shocked at the reindeer king's moving speech.

"Wow...I thought I was the one that was gonna have to bust out an emotional speech." Anna remarked, breaking the silence. "You know, Kristoff's right, this is the right thing to do. And I think you need to stop blaming yourself because even though you feel like you could have done something to prevent it. You couldn't have predicted that he was such a horrible person. He deceived all of us and now you're gonna make him pay for that." Elsa gave them both a half smile, indicating that she was grateful for their support but would prefer to stop talking about it for the moment. There was an equal sense of understanding between the three of them and the silence that followed was not awkward but comfortably calm. They all silently agreed that the silence was okay.

Elsa closely examined the sword in her hands, it was quite large, two-handed of course, fairly heavy with a small yet intricate crocus design on the pommel. The hilt was made of leather, providing a soft grip and the blade was long and sharp, the steel shining devilishly in the sunlight. This sword had been in her family for generations, its purpose was specifically for executions. She had been practising with it with Bjorn for the past two days, he was teaching her how to do a quick, successful swing. He helped her gauge how much power she had to put into the swing and where on the neck to aim for a clean cut straight through. Bjorn said she had done well and was ready for the execution, physically at least.

Neither Anna or Elsa had never even been to an execution before, she didn't remember them happening that often either. And when they did, she and Anna would never attend, their mother and father would leave them in Gerda's care with strict instructions to not let either of them outside all day, even as they got a little older. Elsa knew it was to protect them both and she appreciated that but that meant that she had never really got the chance to understand that death was a punishment for some crimes, not until they were much older at least. When they did eventually learn that people could be sentenced to death for particularly serious offences it was a shock, that people would commit such terrible crimes and that her parents had hidden it from her for so long that they killed people for doing such things. Now she understood, such crimes deserved a punishment this severe, it was the only one truly fitting of those who committed them.

"And, Elsa...Me and Anna, we fully support whatever decision you make, whether you do it or not, we're behind you. But... just know that if I were in your shoes... I'd hack off more than just his head." Kristoff added gruffly.

There was a knock at the door, Elsa called for them to come in, she was sure her voice was shaky. Captain Bjorn came in, he looked from Elsa to Anna to Kristoff then back to Elsa.

"It's time, Your Majesty." He said quietly. Elsa took a few deep breaths then looked to Anna who offered a sad smile.

"It's time." She repeated flatly. Elsa looked at the sword once more, it's devilish glint enticing her.

"We'll be there right next to you. Just remember Elsa... he deserves everything that's coming to him." She said supportively. Elsa closed her eyes for a moment, took one final deep breath and turned back to Bjorn.

"I think it's time we went and got him then isn't it." She said lowly.

"He's already there. Tried to escape this morning. I guess he couldn't wait." Bjorn replied, holding the door open. Elsa frowned. She gave Bjorn a look somewhere between guilt and fear. She handed Bjorn the sword to give her before the execution. Briefly, he gave a small, empathetic smile before taking the sword from his Queen's slender hands.

"Then we had best not keep him."

* * *

Anna stood behind and to the right of Elsa, she listened to Bjorn address the gathering crowd. His voice possessed a powerful timbre and authoritative tone.

"Good people of Arendelle, we are here today because a man has committed a crime against our beloved Royal family. A crime that cannot be forgiven. He has stolen from your Crown and our Queen will not stand for it. Today we will execute him because he betrayed the trust of this family. The family that is dedicated to helping Arendelle thrive. Our Queen will rid our kingdom of this man. He must be punished for his crimes against us!"Bjorn stepped aside, Elsa now stood at the centre of attention.

"People of Arendelle, as you know, we are currently in disagreement with the Southern Isles. As Queen, my loyalty lies with you and yours with me. And when I became your Queen I vowed to keep Arendelle safe. I promised to protect each and everyone of you from harm. I pledged to put Arendelle before myself, always and that means always doing what is in your best interests. But if I let this man walk free today, I would endanger you all, I will not have him posing a threat to you. Though if I were to lock him up, so as to keep him from harming anyone, he would only serve as a distraction to my mind. A distraction would mean our attention being drawn away from keeping you and your families safe. And if Arendelle were to suffer due to lack of punishment to those who deserve it, I would never be able to forgive myself." Elsa announced, she then signalled for Bjorn to bring Tomas over. "So today we make an example of a man that made the decision to betray us." Elsa's voice, though not possessing the same booming quality as Bjorn's, was still extremely powerful. It was eloquent and held an undoubted air of intelligence. To Anna it was clear that Elsa had successfully captured the people's attention with the true emotion and conviction in her words, she could tell Elsa held their trust by the way they remained silent, waiting eagerly for her next words.

Anna watched as Bjorn grabbed Tomas roughly by his arm, his hands were bound in front of him. She looked to Elsa whose gaze remained forward. Anna felt hatred towards the man that walked past her, he didn't even look at her he just walked past as though nothing were wrong. Oh how she hated that man, he had hurt her sister and that angered her so. She wished she could chop his head off herself but she was not the one that sentenced him and thus she could not kill him. Unfortunately.

Kristoff, sensing the copper-haired Princess' fiery rage within, slipped his hand into hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze. He too was angry, Tomas had hurt his family and if there was one thing Kristoff would not stand for it was hurting his family. Whether that meant the trolls or Anna and Elsa, you just didn't mess with them. Kristoff knew Anna wanted to punish Tomas herself, so did he, but he knew that Elsa had to do it, not only because the law required her to do so but because he believed it was the first step towards her healing.

Tomas was walked into his position, he made a point of walking slowly, mostly to try and piss Elsa off some more. But she turned to look at him she was just the embodiment of cool. She literally seemed to me looking straight through him, almost unfazed by his presence. And then she spoke in the calmest, most chilling of voices, something he had never expected.

"I'm so glad you could make it." Elsa said flatly. Tomas' eyes narrowed in anger.

"I hate you." Tomas spat, giving Elsa a filthy look. Elsa returned with a more subtle glare.

"I had no idea." She dead-panned. "Get on your knees." Tomas smirked before rebuffing, eager to see at least mild displeasure or evoke some sort of an irascible response.

"You're not really gonna kill me... you're too weak." He whispered to her as he knelt. "I know you can't do it, you're too kind to kill anyone!" He yelled. Elsa felt an anger rising in her chest but tried to keep her feelings buried, her face remained stoic, she couldn't afford to crack now. Even just one tiny, single snowflake falling from the sky could give it all away. She took a breath and looked out into the eager crowd, practically salivating over the prospect of this man dying. Elsa glanced down at the man once more, how wrong she had been about him. She then looked to Bjorn, he nodded then handed her the sword, offering it, balanced horizontally in his palms. He bowed his head respectfully as she lifted it carefully from his hands. Once more it glinted at her in the sunlight almost like a sly, devious wink, goading her with it's potential for violence, making her desire Tomas' death more and more.

At the sight of the sword Tomas' eyes grew wide and his stomach flipped as he realised this wasn't just an elaborate bluff. The sword glared at him, staring into his very soul, searching him, judging him, ending him. It was like the sword was mocking him, sniggering at him, the sight of it made him shiver, like an ice cold rain drop that trickles down the back of your shirt, chilling your spine, chilling you to your very core. He knew why he was here right now. He knew what he had done and why it was so wrong but he just couldn't resist. He didn't give a damn, he always got what he wanted and at the time he wanted Elsa. He wanted to touch every inch of Elsa's beautifully enticing alabaster body, to make sweet love to her and show her that she needed him but unfortunately that came at a price, a price he was having a hard time accepting. Tomas had wanted Elsa more than anything and he gave her the chance to leave quietly, to run away with him but she was too proud, passed of her disgust at his peasant status as loyalty to her kingdom. He knew he would never convince her with words so he had to find another way. Tomas cared not that his only option was to break her trust and destroy her innocence, if that was what it was going to take he was willing to risk it to get what he wanted. But now he was scared, he was going to die at the hands of the woman he had once pined for. He looked up at Elsa and she looked back, her face was stoic, save for her eyes that conveyed thinly veiled contempt.

"Elsa, please don't do this." He said, looking up at her with vulnerable eyes. "Please, I...I- I'm sorry. I'll...just...I'll leave, I-I promise, I'm sorry, I won't _ever_ come back... p-please." He begged pathetically, his eyes wide and scared but not one ounce, _not a single shred_ of regret or guilt in them. She knew better. He was only worried about himself. He didn't care about her, he never did, she was just a means to satisfy his frustrations.

"Be quiet." She replied coolly. Tomas felt his heartbeat quicken in his chest, he was beginning to sweat. He didn't think she was really going to kill him. She couldn't really do it could she? He knew what he had done, he knew it was bad but who cared? He had taken what he wanted, Elsa was nothing to him now. She was only angry because she now realised that he only wanted her body all along, he could tell. She wanted something more between them but he just wanted sex, so he took it. That must have been it! She was so caught up in her desire for him that she couldn't accept that she had missed her chance but now he no longer wanted her, she was used, no longer pure, his interest had disolved.

"You bitch!" He growled, his eyes turned wildly angry and his face twisted into a nasty snarl. "Go ahead, kill me, I got what I wanted, you vile cow!" Elsa tried to ignore him as he continued to vomit his disgusting plethora of vile insults, she just steadied the sword in her hands, noticing the way the handle had iced over slightly in her grip. She closed her eyes and calmed herself, blocking out his loathsome insults. In that moment she remembered that he one hundred percent deserved this.

"Head down." She said flatly. Tomas felt his heart sink and his chest tighten, he immediately shut up, obeyed and turned his head back to face the crowd again, lowering his head onto the block as instructed. He wanted to cry and scream and kick but he knew this was it, there was no point trying to run away, she would kill him one way or another, whether by icy impalement with a painfully slow bleed out or a quick swipe of the sword. It seemed an easy decision, though he wished he had a third option, one with less dying. A third option, hopefully where he made it away unscathed but he knew that wasn't going to happen. At least this way it was over quickly.

Holding it now, before all these people felt so much different to holding it in the training room with Bjorn. This time she was swinging to kill a real person, not to slice through a dummy full of straw. She was standing before all these people and they were expecting her to kill this man, not to falter, to be ruthless in carrying out this gruesome task.

Gripping the sword with both hands, she took a breath and mentally prepared herself. She took a brief glance back at Anna and Kristoff, they were holding hands and they each gave her small encouraging smile. She was grateful that they came with her, she was scared to face this alone. To face _him_ alone.

Elsa steadied her grip on the sword once more, strength was key to making a clean cut. She lifted it, both arms high above her head, shaking slightly. Then, with all her strength, swung down towards his neck.

The blade fell, cutting through the air as it neared its target. He should have been more careful, he should have run faster, been sneakier, he shouldn't have stopped to yell at Astrid the dumb bitch! He should have just left without saying a damn word. But as the sword swung at his neck, not once did it cross his mind that he just shouldn't have done it at all.

Elsa was clearly stronger than she looked. The sword ripped into the flesh at the back of his neck, straight through to the throat and then it was over. Not one shred of skin was still clinging on, it was a clean sweep.

It was nauseating. She felt the sword rip through his flesh, his bone and straight back out. The dull thud of his grotesque, dripping skull falling into the basket below. The sound of his body as it fell, lifeless, on its side. The glistening of his blood that stained the metal in her hands. The growing pool of crimson at her feet. She felt sick and almost didn't hear the crowd cheering at the sight of blood oozing from his neck.

Suddenly she was broken from her thoughts when Bjorn was by her side, placing a gentle hand on her shaking shoulder. She looked up at him, speechless, she felt numb. He took the sword from her hands and gave her a warm yet sad smile. It took her a moment to realise that he was saying something.

"You did well Your Majesty." He said, his voice barely audible as the shouting surged behind her. Then Anna came forward and hugged her sister, burying her head in the elders cold neck.

"You were so brave." She whispered. Elsa fought to hold back the tears as she tried to drown out the barbaric cheers of her people, celebrating at the site of a dead man, a man they all knew. A man that, as far as they knew, was just a thief.

* * *

 **A/N: So that's that then. Dead. Poor Elsa, I can't imagine the mental and emotional stress of having to do something like that...so sad :( I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's taken me a while since I wanted this one to be quite focused on the fact that Elsa is really still in two minds about this whole thing and that Tomas, the little dirt bag, doesn't regret any of it. I also wanted to show how Elsa's past has affected the way she perceives blame and guilt. I hope I wrote it well, so that you were able to see the emotions and feel the atmosphere. And Kristoff's comment before the execution: "I'd hack off more than just his head" well you know I just couldn't resist a little dirty bit.**

 **Hang on... wasn't Gabe supposed to be arriving today? He will, don't worry but next chapter, I didn't want to take anything away from the (hopefully) emotional gravitas of this chapter by randomly chucking in a Prince's arrival right at the end. Plus I think Elsa might have flipped her frozen sh*t if some random turned up at the end of the execution.**

 **Thanks for reading, review if you would, I love hearing your opinions or any questions you may have.**

 **\- Fly :J**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hi guys, thanks for reading :)**

 **This chapter gets a little fluffy in the middle, I suppose this story could use it, it's been quite dark and depressing from the beginning. The bold italic text is the story as Iduna told Elsa but the plain italics is just Elsa replaying the memory in her head. Elsa doesn't say any of the memory prior to the story aloud, the rest is just to give you a little background knowledge.**

 **!I Don't Own Frozen!**

* * *

Elsa, Anna and Kristoff were gathered in the library. Anna and Kristoff were sat on the sofa by the fire, Elsa was standing, occasionally pacing in front of the fire. Her arms were folded, right hand under the left arm as she brought her left hand to touch her chin.

"Where have you guys been - why wasn't I allowed to come – oooh was it fun, I heard people cheering outside – that sounded fun, what was it?" Olaf blurted as he bounced into the room. An awkward silence followed. Elsa didn't even seem to be listening. She just continued pacing in front of the fire, absently pulling at her bottom lip, her eyes boring holes into the floor.

"Olaf, buddy, why don't you uh... why don't we go find Sven in the stables, huh?" Kristoff said, hoping he and the stubby-legged snowman could wander off for a few hours.

"Elsa why are you sad?" Asked the buck-toothed snowman suddenly. Elsa stopped in her tracks and looked down at the little guy, his face worried. She crouched to his height.

"Olaf, I'm not upset. I'm okay, I'm just a little...worn out, today has put a bit of a strain on my mind...too much work." She said. Olaf looked around at the other two and then back to Elsa, he nodded with a slight smile growing on his face.

"You work too hard, you should take a break more often. Work's boring. I sure am glad that I'm not the Queen." Her snowy companion chortled.

"Come on, shall we all go for a walk in the gardens?" She added before he could say anything else, taking his twig hand in hers and leading him out the door. Anna and Kristoff stood to follow.

"Actually, Elsa, I uh I probably _should_ go check on Sven. I haven't seen him since this morning... he- he gets lonely." Kristoff said, rubbing the back of his neck as he stood up to leave. Elsa knew that Kristoff was going to see the reindeer not for the animal's benefit but for his own. Kristoff had been a great help today and it was all likely weighing on him too, he just needed to talk it over with his best friend. She understood. Elsa looked down at Olaf, sensing his sudden excitement at going to see Sven. Olaf could allow himself to be excited now he believed Elsa to be okay.

"Olaf, you can go, I'm fine." She said softly, lying. The snowman looked between the Ice Master and the Ice Queen, he really wanted to see Sven but if Elsa was sad he wouldn't go. "Really Olaf, I'm okay, perfectly fine. Anna will be with me." She added, nodding in Anna's direction. He considered for a moment longer, his large eyes narrowing in thought.

"Okay but Anna make sure you look after her." The stubby-legged snowman said, pointing a twiggy finger at the Princess.

"I will Olaf." Anna laughed. "No need to worry about that." She added.

As Kristoff went to walk past her and leave, Elsa lay a hand on his arm causing him to stop and look down at her with concerned brown orbs.

"Thank you Kristoff, truly." She managed quietly. Kristoff smiled bashfully and nodded, his way of saying it was no big deal even though to Elsa it was a huge deal. His support today was one of the things that got her through it all without breaking down.

* * *

Elsa and Anna arrived in the gardens, the soft opal moonlight glowing in the ebony sky. Elsa closed her eyes and breathed the fresh night air into her tight chest, hoping that now things would begin to get better.

Anna looked around, this garden had never really appealed to her that much, she preferred the one with the duck pond where her quacky yellow friends could accompany her. This garden was mostly flowers. The pathway led from the garden entry, straight on then split into two paths at a square of grass with a tall tree at it's centre. The path had grassy banks either side, again filled with flowers, some blue, some yellow, the red ones were particularly pretty, she liked those. As one followed the path further it was identical to before, a square of grass, this one though, with a bench in it's centre with no other botanical adornments. The cobblestone continued up the garden, coming to a final square of grass this one filled with the same tree as the first, the path then joined again and you could walk back round. Beyond this final square was a large grassy area that was clear save for one large tree off to the right. It seemed this bank would have made a nice place to lie and enjoy the sun or make snow angels in the winter, whichever suited your preference. Anna laughed to herself, she wasn't usually the one to focus on useless detail but today... she supposed everyone was acting a little differently. Why couldn't she? She shrugged and continued to walk alongside her sister.

Elsa felt a little more peaceful in these gardens, this one in particular was her favourite, she liked the way it was surrounded on all sides, it was a fantastic place to come and think, to free your mind of all its bad thoughts and relax, if only for a little while. She looked to the bench just a few paces away, she allowed a slight curve of her lips, her father had supposedly 'wooed' her mother sitting on that very bench. Before she knew it she was sporting a healthy smile and looked rather peculiar smiling at a bench.

"You see that bench over there," She nodded towards the bench and Anna followed with her eyes, looking quite perplexed. "That's where Mother and Father fell in love." Anna knew their parents were very happy together, during the time Anna had known them they were undoubtedly and unquestionably in love with one another. To anyone else it seemed that bench was just that but to find out that was where the spark of love had flickered to life was warming to Anna's heart.

"Where they fell in love...wow, that's...that's so cute." Eager to learn more of their parents love and to keep Elsa's mind focused she continued. "I don't know much about before they were married, I don't suppose you ever did, did you?"

"Mother told me once, the details have faded a little, it was a few years ago now. I think I must have been about sixteen...I remember I was finding it increasingly difficult to control my powers. She decided to tell me a story. She thought a story might calm me somehow. So she told me of how she and father had been arranged to marry." Anna smiled at how Elsa seemed to have eased, she was no longer shaking or seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown.

"Sixteen? Well that was...39, 38, 36- 1834, I remember... the castle seemed just a little _colder_ than usual... that wouldn't happen to have anything to do with you would it?"

Anna joked, finger and thumb rubbing her chin in mock suspicion. She could tell by the way Elsa's cheeks coloured and her mouth curved slightly that yes, it did indeed have something to do with Elsa.

"My powers were getting stronger and their irritable connection to my emotion meant it got a little cold, yes." Elsa replied, a wry chuckle escaping her lips. Anna saw the tiniest hint of mirth in her sister's eyes. "Anyway, I was practising trying to control my magic and was growing rather distressed at the fact that I couldn't. Mother came by my room, even though I told her to stay out because I had frozen everything. She told me I needed to calm down, so she came in to try and help. Then I remember something along the lines of 'how am I supposed to calm down when I've just frozen the door shut!?'" Anna's eyes went wide with interest.

"Frozen the door shut, like... froze it over... like so you couldn't get out?" Anna asked. Elsa nodded.

"I told her not come in, with my powers getting stronger I didn't want to be near anyone. But she did anyway, sure as always, that it would be okay. I accidentally froze the door shut. She told me the story whilst we waited for it to melt. She asked me if I knew that the gardens just outside my window were the ones where she fell in love with father." Anna looked up and sure enough there was Elsa's old bedroom window, of course now she occupied the Queen's chambers. Anna, eager to hear more of the story yet dying to sit down and rest her aching feet, took Elsa's hand and led them over to the famous bench and sat.

Before she spoke again, Elsa took a minute to remember, she remembered why it was getting so hard to control her powers. The evil beast that was puberty had recently decided to rear it's exceptionally ugly head. She remembered her mother coming in, Elsa accidentally freezing the door shut, panicking that she would hurt her mother. She remembered how scared she was, scared she might hurt her mother, another family member to add to her list.

* * *

 _She narrowed her eyes in focus and gnawed at her bottom lip as she lay her hand out flat on the dresser. Wait a second, focus...wait...concentrate on the ice...conceal don't feel...that's it...keep it inside. A small smile as she felt no ice urging at her fingertips, maybe she was getting better, maybe it would get easier. But then when it seemed all was going well, a sliver of ice escaped her hand and slithered across the dresser, angry at her failure she beat her fist on the dresser causing sharp spikes to erupt across the surface. Elsa gasped and quickly withdrew her hand, holding it close to her chest._

 _The frost shot violently from her fingers as she desperately grabbed for her glove. Fumbling with the glove, another blast of ice escaped her fingertips causing the poor Princess even more panic. She yanked the glove back on to her hand but the growing frost was too distressing, she couldn't control it._

" _Oh, no, no, conceal, don't feel,_ don't feel _." She whispered harshly. She closed her eyes tightly as if this would help her focus on the ice within her body. Elsa sat with shaking hands as the ice crept up the the walls. She mentally berated herself whilst repeating her mantra aloud. There was a knock at her door and she shot to her feet, eyes wide with fear._

" _Elsa, it's me dear, may I come in?" Came her mother's soft voice. This only aggravated the ice crawling the walls, Elsa heard it crackle evilly as it continued to cover her room in a deathly chill._

" _No, please...it's not safe!" Came Elsa's scared reply. She closed her eyes again, tried to breath and calm herself but it wasn't working. Then to add to her worries she heard the door open, her mother hadn't listened, she was going to come in anyway. She usually did this if she believed she could calm Elsa. But Elsa wasn't feeling calm at all, her anxiety growing faster than the deadly ice on her walls._

" _Mother please it's too dangerous to be in here. I don't want to hurt you...please leave." Elsa begged, backing away from her mother as she neared._

" _Elsa, I know you won't hurt me, just calm yourself and you can make it go away, I know you can." Came encouraging words. Tears threatening to spill from her sad blue eyes, Elsa shook her head._

" _I can't, mother. I'll never control it..." Elsa said glaring at her hands. Her body had betrayed her, hormones and anger made her powers ever more difficult to control. She felt she was on the edge of a cliff, trying to regain her balance but she was already falling and there was no coming back. She closed her eyes and whispered her father's words over and over, willing the ice to go away and leave her alone._

 _Now standing here in this snowy room with her mother no more than five feet away Elsa felt more panicked than ever. All the hormones and stress coursing through her only caused more distress, more anger at herself for not being able to control it. Elsa felt this extreme anxiety might consume her. She took another step back, wishing her mother would just listen and_ leave! _Her back hit the wall and almost instantly ice raced across the walls in all directions. To Elsa's horror it froze over the door and she felt her heart drop, she had just trapped her mother in here with her! A snowfall began to fall from the ceiling._

" _Oh, mother I'm so sorry, please just stay back, please...I can't hurt you!" Elsa cried, her body shaking, not from the cold but the fear that racked her bones._

" _You won't hurt me just take deep breaths. Calm yourself."_

" _How can I be calm!? The door is frozen over, you're trapped! You shouldn't have come in, I'm too dangerous." Elsa yelled, her composure melting away as terror gripped her heart._

" _Then now is the perfect time to practice melting the ice." Came her mother's cool voice, clearly unfazed by her daughter's distress, ever encouraging Elsa to gain control._

" _I-I can't. It doesn't work, I just...I just can't do it." Elsa's fragile voice trembled._

" _Don't stress yourself dear, you know that only makes it worse. How long does it usually take to melt on its own?" Iduna asked, seeing that her words of encouragement were having no effect on her daughter._

" _I-I...I don't...I don't know, I don't know, I'm so sorry mother..." Elsa said, her voice shaking with fear. Iduna was saddened by the way her daughter curled into herself, crossing her arms, tucking her hands away as if it would somehow prevent the ice from continuing to spread from her body._

" _Okay, okay. Just breathe. Breathe and listen to me. You remember when you were little and the thunderstorms would come in the night? You would sit in my lap and I would tell you a story, you would fall asleep in my arms. Do you remember those times Elsa?" Iduna asked, searching her daughter's expression. Elsa frowned._

" _I remember." Elsa said, her shaky rushed tone implying that she was still very much on edge._

Elsa began to recount her mother's words to Anna as best she could remember them, she remembered the majority of the conversation, some parts more clearly than others though she did her best. She spoke what she remembered; being scared and her mother's voice trying to calm her.

" _ **Look outside, in the gardens, you see that bench down there?" Elsa peered out through the partially frozen window, just able to make out the bench her mother spoke of. "That's a very special place. That's where your father and I fell in love, Elsa."**_

 _ **It was the first day of spring and the flowers in the garden had just begun to grow, it was beautiful and ever so peaceful, that is... until Prince Agnarr of Arendelle and Princess Iduna of Corona came around the corner snapping insults at one another. The Prince and Princess didn't always get along, she thought he was arrogant, he thought she was irrational and rude. When Iduna's father arranged for her to be married to Agnarr she was due to turn sixteen that spring. And from what she had heard of him he was far too proud, she disliked him before she had even met him.**_

 _ **He was a gentleman though, there was no doubt about that. He seemed almost too proper, too confident. It made the Princess believe he held himself too highly. It seemed he was sure that her father would agree to the marriage contract simply because Arendelle was successful and rich and her kingdom was less so.**_

 _ **And so, whilst their fathers discussed the finer details of their arrangement, he and Iduna were left alone. He offered to give her a tour of Arendelle's grand castle. The two went around and he spoke of how his ancestors had built this part of the castle after this war and how Arendelle was such a strong kingdom and how Arendelle was rich and Arendelle was so fantastic and Arendelle was this and that. Iduna was frankly growing quite sick of his boasting. So then asked him if he knew what a pretentious fool he sounded.**_

 _ **Agnarr, with all his pride, then looked at her like she was mad. He said 'How can you be so**_ **rude?** ** _Your kingdom relies on your marriage to me, are you really willing to jeopardise their future by insulting me?' But Iduna was young, he was getting on her nerves and so she wasn't going to allow him the satisfaction of scaring her into being nice. He continued, hoping to salvage the conversation, concerned that Iduna's foul impression of him may influence the negotiations. He led her to the gardens. The argument continued over whether she was rude or he was pretentious and carried on for about five minutes. Then the two young royals heard a noise a few feet away, like something in terrible pain. It seemed to be coming from one of the flower beds. In there they saw this tiny baby bird, poor thing, lying in the flowers. It had hurt it's wing in the fall, it had clearly fell from the tree in a failed first attempt at flying and his family were nowhere to be seen._**

 _ **Prince Agnarr picked the bird up then he sat on the bench and cradled it in his hands. He looked at the bird with such sadness, Princess Iduna's face softened a little. Then he said to her 'This poor bird. We should take it to the Physician, he'll know what to do. We can't just leave him out here, he'll surely die.'**_ **He was actually a caring human being after all** ** _, she thought._**

 _ **The Royal Physician was rather puzzled as to why the pair had brought him a small bird but he helped nonetheless. After tying a tiny splint to the wing he told the young Prince that he really should stop bringing so many injured animals into the castle for medical attention as they were likely to fall prey to more dangerous creatures due to their injuries once he set them free anyway. He disagreed and told the Physician it would be worth his help because he was going to nurse this little bird back to heath.**_

 _ **They cared for the bird for the rest of Iduna's time in Arendelle. Soon the little thing was back to good health and finally came the day when they could set him free. Together, they took his cage out into the garden where they found him. The Prince sat on the bench with the cage in his lap. He told the little bird that he had to be brave and that now he was better he had to fly away and find his family. Iduna sat beside him and listened as he spoke to the bird. He told him that he was strong now and he should have no trouble flying away. It seemed this tiny creature had shown her the kind heart in this man and she was moved by the care and compassion he had shown this bird, finding it all rather sweet. Agnarr lay the cage on the ground and opened it. They both watched as the bird ventured out onto the grass and tested its wings, after a few tries it managed to lift itself into the air. They smiled and watched as it flew higher and higher and farther and farther. Agnarr turned to Iduna with a smile on his face and, she thought, a tear in his eye. She smiled back, realising how kind and loving he could be. They kissed in the spring sun and decided that they could stand each other more than first thought.**_

 _ **They were married only a few days after her sixteenth birthday, their fathers had finally come to an agreement and the Prince and Princess were wed in the late spring. Iduna was expecting her first child by the mid March.**_

* * *

Anna smiled as Elsa came to the end of the story.

 _That's so sweet_. Anna thought, she knew her father had always loved animals but she never knew it was the reason her parents fell in love, how cute.

"That's sweet, I always knew father loved animals but that bird was a miracle. Could you imagine if that poor little bird hadn't fallen out of his nest? I'm sure they would've just argued forever." Anna chuckled, her mother always was outspoken, she was never afraid to say what others could not. She must have mellowed over the years because Anna couldn't recall a time when her mother's honesty could have been seen as rude. Or her father's pride taken as arrogance, maybe they balanced each other out and that's why they fell in love, it was simply destiny. Anna smiled, it seemed they were just meant to be happy together. She felt a similarity in her own story with Kristoff, he had started off quite rude and disconnected from people. She was naïve and silly but they kind of came together and it seemed that they balanced each other well enough all things considered.

"It's funny isn't it? How such a small thing can change so much." Elsa said. She was gazing into the night sky, her mind seeming to have drifted away.

Anna felt her smile falter as she realised that Elsa was the only one that wasn't happy and head over heels in love, and now, Anna doubted she would ever give another man the chance. It was terrible really, that Tomas had damaged her sister so much that even _Anna_ doubted she could begin to ever find _true_ love.

"I'm sorry." She found the word just tumbled from her lips without thought. She saw Elsa's head snap round, coming back from her daze, her face that of complete confusion, platinum braid flying over her shoulder.

"Sorry? Anna, what on Earth do you have to be sorry about?" Came Elsa's perplexed reply, head cocked slightly. Anna looked down at the ground, this time actually thinking through what she was going to say. She took Elsa's hand in hers then looked up at her with stunning teal eyes.

"I guess...I'm sorry that- that _you're_ not happy. I'm sorry that you don't have- " Anna began, looking into Elsa's eyes. Elsa frowned, now seeming more angry than confused.

"-Anna, I meant it when I said you had nothing to be sorry for. You and Kristoff are happy, that's great. But don't feel guilty for being happy. I think I have fared well despite all that's happened, I still have you and Kristoff. And Olaf, lets not forget. What happened was no fault of yours, you've no reason to feel sorry. He was a vile man, you don't need to bare his guilt for him." She said her eyes hard yet kind. "He's already paid his price." She added darkly. How could Anna possibly feel guilty, this was not her fault, not in the slightest.

"I just want you to know that I am always here if you need someone to talk to, I am your sister after all." Anna said with a weak smile and a slight encouraging squeeze of her sisters hand.

"I know...but he's gone. If I continue to let him plague my thoughts then I'll never be free of him. It's behind us now. And I can't change what happened...no- no matter how much I wish it...I can't." Elsa continued, holding Anna's hand tightly. Her voice wavered, cracking slightly and Anna was sure she saw tears glaze her eyes but she didn't cry. "But... just in case...you'll be the person I'll come to should I need a shoulder to cry on."

"Yeah...I have two shoulders, you know, just in case you...if you ever wanna, you know...like talk- anything really..." Anna replied awkwardly. "It's just that... I-I wanna be there for you Elsa. After all those years apart I feel like- like I can finally be a sister to you now, you know. A real sister." Elsa let a small smile show as Anna pulled her in for a hug. She had always been a real sister to Elsa. Anna felt her heart warm at the contact. Elsa had been distant lately but it seemed the execution had alleviated some of that awkward distance, now Anna felt like Elsa was coming back to her bit by bit. Hopefully, Elsa would come back from this even stronger than she was before. But Anna was disappointed when Elsa quickly ended the hug, pulling away.

"Of course. Now, I believe dinner will be ready soon, you had best fetch Kristoff."

"Okay, I'll see you there." Anna said. She stood to find the Ice Master, stealing a glance back at her sister before setting off.

Elsa continued to gaze at the sky, her thoughts elsewhere. The garden was silent, she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Trying not to think about the guards that would surely be cleaning up the mess outside. When she had left the execution platform she couldn't bring herself to look back at his body just lying lifeless on the platform. She was so glad she hadn't seen his head, his expression, his eyes. She would have physically thrown up, just thinking about it made her stomach churn. She could still feel the way the sword ripped through the flesh on his neck. Just as her mind was wandering too far into her own disgusting thoughts she heard a soft voice calling her from the garden entrance.

"Your Majesty." Elsa snapped to attention at the sound of her title, Gerda stood at the garden entrance, her smile warm. "Dinner has been delayed, there is a coach just arrived at the front gate bearing a Royal insignia."

Elsa could have slapped her self. How could she have forgotten? The Urvean Prince.

"Ah, of course, tell Kai to send guards to escort them to the throne room. I will meet them there shortly."

"As you wish your Majesty." Gerda replied, bowing her head before leaving.

Elsa really didn't want to be facing this opportunistic ass right now. She hated the fact that Urvea had the upper hand. This was something she needed to keep secret, she couldn't now decline the Prince's proposal because the Urvean Royalty knew she needed to be wed as soon as possible and they knew why. If she rejected his proposal there was no telling what would happen, who they might tell. She needed him to feel welcome. She could only hope he wasn't like the rest of the Princes she had met; snotty, entitled, pompous prats.

* * *

He had heard the stories. He couldn't lie, he was more than a little scared to be here. She was supposed to be a malicious ice wielding menace, capable of killing a hundred men with a single flick of her wrist. She was supposed to be shockingly beautiful yet absolutely terrifying to look at. She was supposed to be clever and cunning beyond that of all men, she would lure you in and destroy you when you least expected, meeting with a grim and grisly death. He knew that men all over feared her and her icy nature, it made him wonder why this King of the Southern Isles wanted a war. Surely, only an idiot would dare get on her bad side. He shook his head and exited the carriage with Finn, his personal guard. They both looked around, the kingdom of Arendelle was eerily quiet. A cold wind passed, chilling his bones.

Gabriel saw two guards coming down from the castle. Finn by his side, the two guards stopped before them. They quietly looked at himself and Finn, then at each other.

"Alright, come on, her Majesty is waiting." Said the taller of the two. Then, without another word, they turned to the castle and began walking back. Gabriel and Finn took this as their cue to follow. Not wanting to arouse the Queen's ire, Gabriel didn't comment on the gruff greeting he had received, if one could call it a greeting.

Elsa stood in the throne room, she waited. She was thinking too much, all the thoughts just racing through her head, she felt slightly dizzy. She waited anxiously, hoping to make a good first impression. Her palms itched and her fingertips tingled.

He was led through the castle entry and down a long corridor of portraits of Arendelle's former monarchs. His eyes skimmed across the walls hoping to find platinum hair and blue eyes. There, he saw the portrait of Arendelle's current reigning Queen, he nudged Finn and nodded in its direction. A nod in response. She seemed uncomfortable, as if she did not actually want her portrait painted. Her eyes were deep and bright, her light hair in a braided bun, wearing a black and turquoise dress with a dark purple cape flowing behind her. She was clearly very beautiful as he had heard but he noticed nothing remotely scary about her. However, he knew looks could be deceiving. At last arriving at great oak doors, Gabriel stopped, took a deep breath, straightened his spine and cleared his throat. He was certainly nervous now.

The guards pushed the doors open before him. The throne room was grand with wooden support beams lining the high ceiling and and a long table with many chairs in the centre. The thrones, a larger one for the reigning monarch and slightly shorter seat that must have belonged to the Princess, next in line. Standing before the thrones, hands clasped at her front, blue eyes trained on him, jaw locked, was the Queen herself.

He snapped out of his daze, believing the Queen would think him an immature boy for gaping at her in the middle of her own throne room. He cleared his throat once more and the guards led him further into the room before taking their place either side and behind their Queen.

Elsa felt her heart in her chest thudding, not necessarily racing but as if it were trying to beat itself out of her body. She cleared her throat and and flexed her fingers before re-clasping them. Prince Gabriel was here at last, there was certainly no going back now. She observed the young man standing before her; about her own age, he had light brown hair and pale green eyes. A kind green, unlike those of Tomas whose were harsh and dark. Gabriel had a softer, less intense shade to his eyes and they somehow made Elsa relax slightly. His jaw was square and his nose sharp, his face rather handsome. He stood at least five inches taller than herself, his shoulders fairly broad she saw were rising and falling rather quickly, nerves she presumed.

"Prince Gabriel, it is such a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She greeted him, breaking the silence.

"Your Majesty, I assure you, the pleasure is most certainly mine." He replied, stepping forwards and gently brushing his lips over her hand. Elsa felt a slight tingling run up her arm at the feather-touch of his mouth.

"I am sure your father discussed with you the subject of our letters."

"Of course your Majesty."

"Good. I am sure that you and your men must be exhausted after such a journey, I have rooms prepared, would you like Kai to escort you?" Elsa asked. Gabriel's eyebrows twitched.

"My men? Your Majesty, I have brought with me only my most trusted bodyguard, Finn." He said, gesturing to the blond man to his right.

"I see. I assumed you would bring many guards for your protection." Came Elsa's reply. He smiled a confident smile.

"Protection from what, your Majesty?" He asked. Elsa felt taken aback by his response.

"Well, myself for a start. Most men outside of Arendelle see me as someone to be feared. However, I can assure you, I am not like the stories that I am sure you have heard."

"If I were to bring an army of my men with me would that not imply that I do not trust you, that I felt unsafe in your home, your Majesty?" Gabe said with a slight smile. Elsa let a small smile tug at her lips. This guy was good.

"Why thank you, Prince Gabriel, I am glad you feel safe he-"

The oak doors to Elsa's left opened and attention was drawn immediately to the copper-haired Princess that came rushing through.

"Elsa, Gerda said we have a guest and...that must be him...hi, I'm Anna." The Princess said upon entering and noticing the Prince standing in the middle of the throne room. "I'm sorry I interrupted, I...I was just looking for you...I came to say dinner is ready but I'll, leave you to your business."

"Thank you, Anna but you needn't stress, I was just welcoming Prince Gabriel to our home." Elsa replied, gesturing to the Prince before her. Anna looked at the stranger standing in her home, talking to her sister.

"Uh, hi, I'm Princess Anna." She said whilst still awkwardly staring at him. Gabriel bowed before replying:

"Good evening, your Highness. Such a pleasure to meet you." Anna gave him a quick look up and down, what did he want? People like him didn't just pop in to say hi on their way past, he was here for something and she was certainly going to find out.

"A pleasure to meet you as well, your Highness." Anna said, curtsying.

"Prince Gabriel would you and Finn like to join us for dinner, I'm sure you both must have quite an appetite after your long journey here?" Elsa asked, sensing Anna's apprehension of the young Prince. Gabriel cast a quick glance at the Princess then to Finn.

"Yes of course, your Majesty. Finn and I would be delighted to join you for dinner." Gabe replied, glad of the offer of food. He was starved.

Elsa gestured towards the doors through which Anna had just entered.

"We may discuss our Kingdoms business later this evening, for now, I believe dinner is a fine place to start."

* * *

 **A/N: So, I really hope you enjoyed that chapter, Gabe arrived at last. Anna seems a little suspicious, we'll see where that takes us in the next chapter. I hope you all appreciate my kick-ass maths in this chapter. I discovered, using various sources and my own logic, Anna and Elsa's birthdays. Elsa's being Tuesday the 22nd of December 1818 and Anna's being Thursday the 21st of June 1821. I don't know if anyone has worked this out before but I felt quite proud of myself. Oddly, I used to think that Elsa's birthday was her on her coronation day, I guess I liked the irony of her birthday being in summer. I decided to add an anecdote of Elsa's past as we don't really see much of her in her room over those thirteen years. I would really appreciate any comments/feedback you could leave for me, thank you so much for reading.**

 **\- Fly :P**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Thanks to everyone that is reading, hope you're enjoying it so far. In this chapter Anna learns of Gabe's reason for being in Arendelle, not sure that'll go down well... Warning, there is a little profanity towards the very end of this chapter. Again, hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **!Don't Own Frozen!**

* * *

Gabriel was sat across from Princess Anna, Kristoff sat beside her, at the long dining table. The Queen was at the head of the table with Princess Anna to her left and himself to her right. Finn was sat to the right of his Prince.

Gabe looked discreetly at each of the strangers seated before him. Princess Anna would look up at him between mouthfuls of food then avert her eyes back to her plate when she caught his eye. Master Kristoff ate with a tame wildness about him, he was not quite as elegant as one should be when dining with royalty though he was not a barbarian. He ate with the finesse of a royal child, one who had not quite mastered table etiquette. It was clear to Gabriel that he was only a Prince my marriage. Anna was only slightly more courtly, she ate smaller bites than him though the pace at which she ate was not that of a Princess, though he had seen worse and could not make comment. Queen Elsa took small, careful bites of her food. Her spine erect and her movements calculated, he could also sense a certain anxiety in her that he had not expected to find in a woman of her position and ability.

Anna looked up at the Prince for what felt like the hundredth time. She was curious to know what he wanted, why was he here, what business did he and Elsa have to discuss? She couldn't help but question his reasons for coming. For the King to send one of his own sons it must have been important. 'Business' was far too broad a subject. It included all sorts of things that made Anna worry what his intentions were with her sister. Anna noticed the glances the Prince stole at her sister. The way his eyes lingered made the Princess uneasy. She also noticed the way Elsa was avoiding his gaze, almost ashamed to meet his eyes. Anna knew she had to suss this Prince out soon otherwise there could be trouble and Elsa really didn't need any more of that right now.

"So Prince Gabriel, you said you came here on business. It must be important business for you to travel all the way over here, no?" Anna asked. Gabe glanced between the sisters. He was sure that Queen Elsa would not appreciate such a discussion in the presence of other company. He caught her eye before he began to speak, her expression was that of masked frustration. It told him he should not divulge details, just tell her generally why he was here nothing more, no detail as to the business they intended to discuss.

"Indeed, very important, your Highness. Your Queen and my father have been in contact, they have been exploring solutions to a rather delicate subject. One I am sure Her Majesty would rather not be discussed over dinner." Gabriel replied, taking another quick glance at Elsa before lifting his fork to his mouth again. Anna's eyebrows pulled together slightly, she was growing more suspicious of this guy the more he talked.

"A trade agreement of sorts?" Came another question.

"Of a sort." Was the Prince's short response. He felt all eyes on him, Anna searching him for answers, Elsa with a calm facade and Kristoff confused as to why Anna was so intrigued by this Prince. Anna frowned again, her curiosity only grew at his nervous glance between herself and her sister.

"Could you not elaborate on that?" Anna implored, raising a brow at the foreign man. Gabe swallowed thickly. _Wow, she isn't going to give up is she?_ He thought.

"Actually, I can't, I do think it would be much better for Her Majesty to discuss it with you herself, somewhere that isn't here." He answered and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He noticed the way Elsa watched him, he feared getting on her bad side so he did his best to dismiss the Princess politely, he feared saying the wrong thing.

Anna opened her mouth to ask another question, undoubtedly just a rephrased version of what she had previously asked, but Elsa cut her off.

"Anna please, stop asking so many questions. Prince Gabriel has made it clear that it is a matter best not discussed at this moment. You and I may discuss things later if you are still so curious, however, at this moment I think it is best left alone."

Silence fell over them all. Gabriel couldn't help but sense a slight hostility in Anna's eyes. Seconds ticked away filled with silence save for the occasional _clink_ of cutlery on plates. The seconds dragged on into minutes and with each minute Gabe felt even more uncomfortable and he wished someone would speak, even if it was nonsense, just to break this awkward quietness. That break came in the form of Elsa clearing her throat then asking:

"How is your father, your highness? I assume all is well in Urvea." Gabriel paused for a moment before answering. He was surprised at the question, his father had made out like he had shared a lot about Urvea, he knew he had mentioned the storm but had obviously not gone into detail about the troubles his Kingdom now faced.

"My father is well, Urvea on the other hand has not been as of late. There was a massive storm a short while back and it had devastating consequences, our timber supply is rather lacking at the moment. Thus with our lack of timber we have been unable to trade as we had before. Urvea and her people now rely on the timber we import from the Southern Isles, only they seek to charge us extortionate prices for exceptionally low grade wood." He replied, noting the way the Princess ears perked and her eyes hardened at the mention of the Kingdom in the south.

"How terrible, your father mentioned the storm but I had no idea it was so serious. And the Southern Isles taking advantage like that is disgraceful, you would think they would want to help in anyway they could."

"Well that's the Southern Isles for you, is it not?" Gabe chuckled before taking a drink. Elsa almost smiled. Anna frowned once more, it seemed he was trying to get on Elsa's good side, warm up to her. She cast a sideward glance at Kristoff then Elsa, they couldn't seriously be buying this. This guy was out to get something big, she could tell.

"So, Gabriel, was it? Why is it you dislike the Southern Isles so much? So they charge you a little too much for some timber but that's hardly means for disliking them so. Obviously you know they are no friend of ours, is that it? Do you-"

"-Anna." Came her sister's stern voice, a warning. Anna turned to look at her, icy blue eyes wide with part frustration, part desperation. "The way you have addressed our guest is incredibly rude, never mind the fact you keep questioning him and his being here. And, despite the fact I have asked that you stop, you continue to ask. Apologise to Prince Gabriel, then ask him no more questions on his reasons for visiting Arendelle." Anna held her sisters eyes for a few seconds, she wasn't angry as Anna thought she would be. She looked more scared, a little irritated, on edge. Anna broke her gaze and looked to the Prince again.

"I'm sorry, your highness." Anna apologised, her voice deadpan, almost toneless. Elsa rolled her eyes at her sister's stubbornness. "I won't ask you any more questions." And that was it. Almost unbearably awkward silence.

Another five minutes passed before Anna dismissed herself, Kristoff followed. Elsa knew she would need to talk to Anna later, explain things to her. No doubt Anna would give her the rough edge of her tongue when she saw her later. Elsa knew she should have told her, she just didn't know exactly how one would explain to their sister that they were getting married to a stranger Prince of a Kingdom, whom they previously disliked, to cover up the fact that she is carrying her, now dead, rapist's child. Well, it was certainly proving to be even more difficult than she had first thought.

Finn cleared his throat. Gabe had almost forgotten he was there.

"Sir, I will leave you and her Majesty to discuss your business." Finn said. Gabe smiled and bowed his head, allowing the man to stand and dismiss himself.

Finn bowed deeply to both Gabriel and Elsa.

"Your Majesty it has been an absolute pleasure to dine with you, I did not think myself deserving of such kindness. I bid you goodnight."

"Thank you sir, it was a pleasure to have you."

With that, Finn bowed once more and left the dining room. Kai was passing and promptly escorted him to his room.

Gabriel, having finished eating also, glanced briefly at the Queen before the table was being cleared around him by staff that appeared from out of nowhere. He was almost startled as they began to gather the cutlery and plates before him.

The Queen stopped a handmaid as she entered.

"Gerda, would you please find Anna? And when you do will you tell her I need to speak with her? If she is still eager for answers she should meet me in the library by my study at eight." Elsa asked.

"Of course your Majesty." Gerda replied, she then curtseyed and left in search of the Princess.

Gabe followed the Queen down a long corridor until she stopped in front a rather large set of doors. She pushed one open and entered, he took that as his cue to follow, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Gerda was searching for the Princess. She wasn't in her room, Gerda could think of many places she might go but she had heard the sister's dispute over dinner and knew she would be with the mountain man, most likely talking him to death on her suspicions of the Urvean Prince. And the Ice master would surely be in the stables with his reindeer companion. She chuckled as she made her way to the stables, she could just imagine the ear-full that poor boy was getting right about now.

"I'm telling you Kristoff that guy is up to something, I'm sure of it...I can just tell."

"And how are you so sure?" He shot back raising an eyebrow. Sven turned his head as he heard Anna huff at the blond man. She ran her hands through her hair and then flopped her arms to her side, turning away from him.

"I just _know_ , there's something about him," She turned back to her husband. "you know? There's just this feeling that I got when he started talking. You remember what he said about the Southern Isles? Maybe he's just saying that to get on Elsa's good side..." She suggested. Kristoff felt a smile form at Anna's accusation.

"...Or maybe he really doesn't like the Southern Isles, from what I hear they're jerks. I mean Hans wasn't much of an ambassador and his brother doesn't seem like such a nice guy either. Maybe they're genuinely just an unlikeable Kingdom." Kristoff replied trying to reason with his suspicious wife. Anna's brows drew together in frustration.

"Well, yeah I guess. But he's definitely here for something, I just know it...I just don't know what exactly...yet"

"Maybe that's what the Queen intended, your highness." Came Gerda's voice as she entered the stables. Anna almost jumped out of her skin in fright. "My apologies, ma'am."

"Gerda...do you have any idea what he's here for?" Anna implored, eyes wide with curiosity as she leapt across the stables to the handmaid, hoping she would reveal the answers she craved.

"Unfortunately ma'am, I am unable to speak on that matter. Her Majesty has told me she wishes to discuss it with you herself." Gerda replied giving the Princess a knowing look, the Princess threw her head back and sighed. Kristoff chuckled as the copper-haired Princess huffed and puffed like a child.

"So you do know?" Anna asked, snapping straight back to the point. Gerda smirked at the Princess' eagerness. "Please tell me Gerda, I promise, I won't tell Elsa you told me...pleeease."

"I'm sorry ma'am but I cannot." Anna sighed once more before straightening and turning back to the handmaid.

"What if I ordered you to tell me?" Anna asked hopefully, she was grasping at straws. Gerda suppressed a laugh at the young Princess' eagerness.

"You could ma'am but I'm afraid her Majesty's order would still preside over your own." Anna shrugged and then sat beside Kristoff on a crate of horseshoes. She groaned. Kristoff chuckled and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close then placing a kiss on her forehead.

"She'll tell you. Maybe she doesn't even really know what's going on herself yet... maybe she just has to figure it out first." The Ice master suggested, squeezing his wife by the shoulder.

Gerda knew this was just to make the Princess feel better about being left out of the loop. Elsa certainly knew why the Prince was here. The old maid knew the Queen's silence was due to shame not lack of knowledge.

"Her Majesty requested that I ask you to meet her in the library by her study at eight o'clock if you are still curious as to Prince Gabriel's business in Arendelle, ma'am" Anna whipped round and looked at Gerda with a smile.

"I'll be there, I need to know what this guy is up to, something about him just doesn't feel right."

* * *

Elsa lit the lamp on the wall and asked the Prince to take a seat, he did. He ran a hand through his hair then pulled his crimson cravat tighter. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably then awkwardly glanced around the study. Looking up, Elsa was not looking at him, nor was she sat down, she was instead stood, sorting through a small pile of the papers on her desk, no doubt searching for the letter his father sent. At last she pulled one from the pile. He recognised the handwriting as his father's.

"This is the letter I received from your father, it details the agreement between our Kingdoms should I decide to take him up on his offer." Elsa said, handing Gabriel the parchment upon which his father's words were scrawled. She sat in the chair across from him, placed her hands in her lap, laced her fingers and patiently waited for him to finish. Reading through he couldn't help but feel embarrassed at how his father had so openly discussed hiding her pregnancy by having Elsa marry his son. He felt a slight disgust at the way he had taken advantage of this situation for his own benefit. He finished and looked up to meet expectant eyes.

"Queen Elsa, I can only apologise for my father's words. The way he writes it...it makes it seem...he makes it seem dirty and sneaky, some sort of clandestine operation. He writes as if he is doing you a favour. I mean, he almost assumes your acceptance, doesn't even give you much of a choice. When he sent me he told me you had discussed this in great detail but it seems here that he had only given you an ultimatum. I apologise profusely for his bluntness, I truly was none the wiser." Gabe explained, he was alarmed to see that his father had written this so heartlessly, hiding behind a facade of sympathy.

"You needn't apologise Prince Gabriel, your father did what he did for his Kingdom. If I am being honest, I'm not sure that I was that upset with his words. Though it may not be pretty, it is a solution." Elsa replied matter-of-factly. Gabriel nodded slowly. He studied the letter once more before handing it back to the platinum haired woman opposite him.

"You said 'should I decide to take him up on his offer'...does that mean you are considering going through with this?" He asked, glancing curiously into her deep blue eyes. They gave away no emotion, not that he had expected it, she was well-known for her cold front and icy exterior.

"Perhaps, I need to know that this stays between us, Urvea and Arendelle. If your father crosses me, Prince Gabriel, he will be very sorry." Elsa warned, the temperature dropped noticeably and Gabe suddenly found himself shivering, his breath began to fog before his lips.

"Of c-course, your Majesty. I shall ens...ure that- that he underst-stands. I will wr-write him a letter." He dithered. After a moment where she simply looked at him, her face devoid of emotion, he felt the chill dissipate, the air warming to a more bearable temperature. Though he shivered still, not due to cold, but because this woman before him was as scary as she was stunning.

"Make sure he understands that I will not hesitate to take action against him should he betray my trust. Though it seems I am only protecting myself, I am thinking only of Arendelle. Such news would spread quickly, trade would plummet, people would lose their jobs, get into debt, leave the kingdom, Arendelle and its people would crumble. As it's Queen I cannot see that happen, if the King decides to divulge the details of our arrangement just know that I will do _everything_ in my power to stop him, too many people would suffer as a result. I'm not threatening him, this is simply a warning."

"Yes, your Majesty. I understand." Gabe replied quietly. He lifted his eyes from the floor to her face. Her icy exterior, though still present, was beginning to fade albeit it only slightly. He saw what he could only assume to be fear in her dark eyes. Fear... maybe sorrow? Gabe already knew this situation was upsetting and far less than ideal for her Majesty but he daren't comment, not even sympathetically lest he appear false, as his father had.

"Now that we are on the same page I find it only fair to be honest with you." Elsa began, the Prince raised an eyebrow. "I am entirely unsure what is going to happen from this point onwards. This was not a situation that I had made plans for."

"I am no better prepared than yourself. I was given only the barest of details about my trip to Arendelle, I was told I would meet you and that it was due to ...the...unfortunate...position that you had found yourself in. My father said he felt obliged to help and so...here I am." Elsa hummed in agreement.

"I will need a few days to think. I will have to discuss it with my council and my sister, in case you were not already aware, she doesn't know why you're here." Elsa added. Gabe felt a chuckle escape his lips, Princess Anna had made it painfully obvious indeed that she didn't know why he was here.

"Take as long as you need your Majesty, I am in no hurry to get back home." He replied with a wry laugh. The corners of Elsa's mouth turned up in what could only be described as the world's vaguest smile. "Though, might I offer a suggestion?" A single nod asked him to continue. "Would it not make your decision easier, if only marginally, if we were to get to know one another?" Elsa considered this for a moment. It had not occurred to her, until now, that she would need to get to know this man if she were going to, potentially, spend the rest of her life with him.

"I suppose there can be no harm in knowing each other better." She agreed. Gabe felt a smile creep onto his face. "May I start with a question?"

"Ask away."

"How much choice did you have in coming here?" Elsa asked. Gabe was taken aback by this question, he had never really considered that, he was told to come here and so he just did.

"Umm... I ... none I suppose. If I were to refuse that would be seen as insubordination, would it not? My King may also be my father but he is my King first and I must obey his orders as I would any other King of my country." The sandy haired Prince replied. Elsa noted the way that question had made him shift in his seat, squirm almost, clearly it made him uncomfortable.

"So you would not have approached me of your own accord." Gabe felt himself frown.

"I wouldn't say that. I may have come to Arendelle on a diplomatic visit. Who knows what may have happened. May I now ask a question?" He replied trying to steer away from the subject of his father. Not only was he the reason he was here, offering himself to this woman, he also had quite a strained relationship with his King, one that he didn't wish to discuss at this moment in time.

"Isn't that how this works?" The platinum blonde asked with a raised eyebrow. Did his eyes deceive him or did The Ice Queen just smile, like, really smile, albeit only for a second or two? He smiled in reply, he felt they were getting somewhere. He though he would ask the question that had been bothering him since he arrived.

"Why doesn't your sister know why I am here?" He decided. Elsa's eyebrows flew into her hairline and for a moment Gabe thought he had overstepped.

"I-I intended on telling Anna of your visit and your reason for coming to Arendelle. However I was informed of it only two days ago. I have also had a lot more on my mind just recently." She sighed and placed her pale hands in her lap. She wrung her hands together as she continued. "There was an execution this morning." Elsa avoided the Prince's eyes, sure that he would judge her.

"An e- you mean...was it him?"

"Yes." Was her short, timid reply. He felt like his heart had just fallen to his feet. She looked so distraught with herself.

"You seem ashamed by your actions, surely it was the right thing to do given his convictions." He continued. Elsa met his eyes, ice blue on forest green, he saw the woe in her eyes and the grief behind them.

"Yes but- I just... would rather not talk about it." Gabe nodded understandingly, he knew it must have been difficult to face someone like that.

"So, um shall we continue? Lets move onto something a little more cheerful. How about family?" He suggested. "Obviously, you have Princess Anna, clearly you both love each other very much. I heard the tale of your coronation.

"I do love her, everything I did was to protect her and Arendelle. Do you have a large family?" Elsa asked, eager to move away from the topic of Tomas' execution. "Any siblings?" Gabe laughed.

"I do, there are too many family members to count, I couldn't possibly remember them all. But at home, I have six brothers and one sister: Henrik, Alsek and Alrik, Crista, Gunnar, Anders and Odvarr. And that's just my brothers and sister. Then there's my uncle Edvind, his wife Yennifer, her daughter Sabina and her husband Federico." He explained.

"And I thought Anna was a handful...so, tell me more about this extensive family of yours, what's it like to have so many siblings?" Elsa asked her tone curious. Gabe almost laughed again, she truly had no idea, seemingly drawn to the idea of a large family, she had not met his dysfuntional lot. They might just put her off marrying him.

"I wouldn't trade them for the world but sometimes it's stressfull. Henrik is the oldest. Obviously he's learning to become King when that time comes. Alsek and Alrik, they're twins, both 26, they're almost indistinguishable, they use that to their advantage and cause all sorts of mayhem at home. Crista is just two years older than myself, she's great, you wouldn't think with seven brothers she would be the one in charge. If she's not happy she'll let you know. Then there's me, whom I believe you have already met..." Elsa felt a small smile creep on to her lips. "Gunnar and Anders are twenty-one and twenty, they serve in the Urvean Army, they're just mountains, massively tall and bulky, but they're as thick as two short planks. And last but not least, little Odvarr, he's only ten, tiny little guy he is. He's, hands down, my favourite brother." Elsa smiled incredulously.

"You can't have favourites, you should love all your brothers equally." Elsa chuckled. Gabe shook his head.

"You just can't. Who is your favourite sister?" Elsa raised an eyebrow and cast him a sceptical look.

"Anna." Gabe held his hands out in a 'there you go', matter-of-fact kind of way.

"See, you have a favourite." He teased. Elsa shook her head with a smile.

"But I have only one sister. You have many brothers." She replied. Gabe held his hand up and waved it dismissively.

"Details, details, Odvarr is still my favourite." He laughed and ran a hand through his sandy coloured hair.

"Oh, goodness. Speaking of sisters, Anna will be waiting in the library any minute." Elsa said, shocked, upon glancing at the clock five to eight. "I think it would be best if you were to retire for the evening. Anna might not be quite as open to this idea as I am and so I think it best that I talk to her alone." She added, concerned that, once Anna learned the purpose of Gabriel's visit, she would confront him and, like another Prince she grew to dislike, assault his face with her fist.

Gabe nodded and stood.

"I'll take my leave the-" He began. A sharp knock at the door cut him off. He looked back to Elsa. "It seems she's early."

"Oh dear." Anna was supposed to meet her in the library not ambush them in her study. Elsa approached the door and opened it. Teal blue eyes looked back at her. She stepped out into the hallway, the door still slightly ajar.

"Hi, I checked the library and you weren't there, so I came here instead." Anna said, an eagerness in her voice.

"I wasn't in library because you're early, it's not eight." Elsa replied. Her sister sighed and rolled her eyes playfully.

"Yeah but I thought if I didn't come find you then you might be late or forget about it and then we'd never get to talk." Anna explained, holding her sister's hand and pulling her closer. Elsa raised an eyebrow at the copper-haired Princess.

"When have you ever known me to be late for anything?" She asked, feigning offence. Anna chuckled.

"First time for everything." She jested. "come on, shall we just talk in here, you know, since I'm already here." She continued. She moved to push the door back and enter.

"Actually, could you stay here for a minute, please, just give us a-"

"-He's still in there?" Anna interrupted. Elsa made to reply but before she could say anything Anna had rushed through the door and into her study. There he was stood, behind one of the chairs at Elsa's desk. Anna took this opportunity to study him. She looked him up and down.

It was a face-off. They stared at each other, neither willing to let the other intimidate them.

"Princess Anna" Gabe greeted with a stiff bow, never taking his eyes off her.

"Your highness." Anna replied.

"Anna, I asked you to stay outside."

"It's okay, we can discuss it together, whatever it is." The Princess said with a wave of her hand. Elsa and Gabe shared a look of discomfort.

"Actually, Princess, I was just leaving." He gestured to the door. Anna smiled deviously.

"Pfft, no need to leave on my behalf, we can discuss business like adults, can't we?" Gabe swallowed a lump in his throat. He nodded awkwardly. "Good."

"Anna, please...just stop trying to make this more awkward than it needs to be." Elsa protested, casting her sister a desperate look.

"I'm not, I just think we should all discuss it together, then if there's any...disagreement, it can be dealt with, right? Isn't it time I was treated more like an adult anyway?" Elsa almost rolled her eyes at her sister's stubbornness. Of course now she had decided she wanted to _discuss_ things like adults rather than assault the Prince with a barrage of questions.

"Fine. But if you don't like what you hear, just remember that it wasn't Prince Gabriel's idea to come here, nor did he have much of a choice in the matter. You should act like an adult if you want to be treated like one." Elsa warned. Anna narrowed her eyes in thought.

"Sure, I can do that. I can." Elsa accepted that Anna wasn't going to drop this and instead decided she should just get it out.

"You should sit down," Elsa began, she motioned to one of the chairs at her desk. Anna sat, albeit with a suspicious look on her face. What could be so bad that she had to sit down to hear it. "You know what happened, with Tomas..." the elder continued, wringing her hands together.

"Yeah...?" Anna's gaze flicked between her sister and this man, why would she be openly discussing what happened with Tomas with him in the room? Her brows drew together in confusion. "Does he know?" She asked, nodding unceremoniously at the Prince.

"He does." Elsa took a breath, short and anxious, then glance back to Gabriel who was standing a few paces away from the door. His tense posture and facial features revealed his same anxiety. "It's actually...it's the reason his Father sent him here- because of Tomas." She revealed. Anna, more confused than ever, was taken back by this revelation. What on Earth was he meant to do about it? Anna's young features wrinkled in thought. Tomas was dead, there was nothing left to do but allow her sister to heal without constantly bringing up the past.

"I'm confused... how does he fit into this situation, there's nothing he can do for you or-" And then it clicked, like suddenly someone had decided to turn the lights on upstairs. The baby. "Wh...Elsa, this is crazy!" Anna protested, leaping up out of her seat, starting toward the Prince with a grimness in her eyes. "How dare you!" She growled. Elsa moved to stand between Anna and Gabriel. She held her sisters unwavering glare.

"Remember, I said this wasn't his idea." Anna stopped, she looked between them both, eyes flitting from face to face, her anger causing her to shake.

"So it was yours?" Anna asked angrily. She felt her bubbling rage at this Prince calm slightly to make room for her growing perplexity. Anna shook her head. Elsa seemed to squirm at the question. At this point, Gabe felt he may well be an accessory in the room, for all the mind the sisters were paying him. He had no problem with that though, he would rather not get involved.

"Not exactly." Elsa said. She searched Anna's face, she knew she wanted to blame this Prince, she wanted to shout and scream at him, she saw her anger in the darkening of her eyes and the clenching of her fists. "Shortly after I discovered I was carrying this child...the council sent a letter to Gabriel's father. The council sent a letter that suggested a marriage between Gabriel and I in order to make this child appear to be legitimate. Without a husband, both the child and Arendelle will suffer, being born as everything thing is will bring shame to Arendelle and this family. You have to understand that I'm only doing what's best for everyone."

"Wh- I...Elsa...why didn't you tell me?" Was Anna's hurt response. Elsa refused to meet her sister's eyes, she couldn't bear seeing the pain within them. She felt a sharp sensation in this tip of her nose as tears began to form in her eyes.

"I didn't know how. I've just been so – so overwhelmed these past few days I- I just didn't know what to do. I didn't know how you would might -." Elsa tried, her voice strained.

"-you just chose to ignore it until he ended up on our doorstep because you thought I would judge you?" Anna asked indignantly. "What did you think? That I would shame you, hate you, be disgusted? Did you think that, as your sister, I wouldn't support you, that I wouldn't understand-"

"- no, you _don't_ understand!" Elsa rejoined. "This has never happened to you Anna and I pray that it never does!" She snapped. The sisters just stared at each other, both on the verge of tears, both with anger and melancholy inside. They held each other's eyes for what seemed an age before Anna walked toward the door, she paused but didn't turn back.

"I know I don't understand. I know this is hard for you. But I just wish you would talk to me, maybe then I could start to understand what you're feeling."

"Anna wait-" She left and pulled the door abruptly shut behind her. Elsa made to follow.

"Maybe she just needs some time." Gabe said gently. "Maybe you both do." Elsa turned to him and was about to snap something about how he didn't know what her she or her sister needed. But as she turned she felt the kindness with which he had spoken and saw the look on his face. He was just trying to make her feel better.

"I think it's time we both retired for the night." She said almost without emotion.

* * *

Anna could have spat and hissed a million insults and kicked and smashed everything on her way upstairs, purposely emphasizing each step with a resounding _stomp_. She didn't have the room in her head to think of the racket she was causing, all she could think of was how angry she was at Elsa. That Prince, the opportunistic bastard, swooping in like some sort of hero. If she didn't hate Urvea before she sure as hell did now. It's not that Anna didn't understand the need for this, of course there would be a fair few discerning looks and up-turned noses if the unmarried Queen of Arendelle suddenly gave birth but it was just the whole way they went about it. Secretive, behind her back, never telling her a thing. Anna hated secrets, after the Great Thaw she had made Elsa promise to never keep secrets from her again. And whilst this time she technically hadn't kept it from her, she had still delayed in telling her, which was almost just as bad.

She reached her room and all but slammed the door behind her causing the paintings in the hall to shudder on the walls. She let out a furious huff and threw herself on her bed. She stared up at the ceiling, thoughts galloping around her mind like wild race horses. Anna knew she didn't understand. But Elsa wasn't making much of an effort to help her understand. So what in the world was Anna supposed to do? The way she said it made it sound as though Anna were one of those vulgar royal pricks that judged you for every minor thing you did wrong, even those out of your control. Anna slammed her fists down either side of her and continued to beat the mattress until she was out of breath. All Anna had ever wanted was her sister back and she had that. But Tomas had changed her sister, she wasn't the sister that Anna remembered. She couldn't pin it down to one thing but she felt it. Her sister never looked quite as happy as she used to, she was not as talkative, she had occasionally begun to flinch from her touch again, though she would act as though it never happened. Anna felt tears spilling down her face like an angry river of emotion. If she didn't do something she was going to lose her sister and she wouldn't lose her again.

* * *

The ships had not long returned, they had been back about half an hour. The seas were fierce and the mild-drinking lads he had on board were anything but fine sailors. He sighed in frustration, he had been out here looking for a passage into Arendelle where they would not be seen until it was too late. He had been out there searching since King Ulrich sent the squadron to Arendelle, he had sailed behind them and took a diversion before they reached Arendelle. He had been searching since then. Finally, he had returned to the docks of home.

It was late by the time the boat was docked. Too late, he thought, to go bothering the King with their news of their return. Instead he went to the tavern opposite the docks. He needed a drink, those little boys he had been forced to sail with had ground his nerves down to their ends. He was about ready to kill one of 'em, he _really_ needed a drink before he strangled someone.

He pushed the door open and the smell of booze and sweat and food and smoke filled his lungs all at once. He felt a smile twitch at his lips. That was more like it. He loved sailing but just recently he had lost all enjoyment for it, Ulrich was forcing his squadron to sail constantly in search of hidden passages into Arendelle. It would take them about a week to get near Arendelle, another week searching and then another week to return with no news, if they were lucky. Sometimes, if the seas were feeling particularly feisty it could take them up to a month and a half before they had returned. He was sick of it. Sick to the back bleeding teeth of it.

He sat at the bar, he ordered his drink. He thought about the small passage he had found behind the mountains. Small was one way of describing it, they could barely sail their smallest boat through there without smashing into the rocks either side. If Ulrich were to order them to sail through there in large numbers he would have to commission the construction of several boats small enough to fit through the perilous passage.

He drank from his tankard, the ale a sweet welcome home after all his efforts to please his King. He still had no idea why his King needed to kill this Queen Elsa of Arendelle. He had made some speech about it before they left to attack about how she was a witch and then something about how it was his duty as their King and protector to kill her. He vaguely remembered him talking about the Gods telling him he had to kill her to become the rightful King of the Southern Isles. He shook his head with a gritty chuckle, it all sounded mad to him but he wasn't going to tell his King that for fear of a noose finding its way around his neck.

"If your not careful your face'll stick like that." Came a voice from across the bar. "I mean, you're ugly enough already, Ingvarr." He looked up to find a tall fair-haired woman of about twenty-five, cleaning out a tankard with a white rag, looking back at him.

"Why don't you mind yer own business Ingrid." He growled taking another drink. Ingrid pouted and put the tankard down. She stood opposite Ingvarr. He ignored her and lifted his ale to his lips, taking a long drink.

"Come on, don't be like that, I ain't seen you for weeks. Was starting to get lonely around here without you." She teased, winking at the Naval Captain. "Can't believe you just up and left without saying goodbye. Broke my heart it did." The Captain cast the woman a smirk. He shook his head at her.

"I tell you, I wish I didn't have to go. I been off sailing for the King. Worst time of my fuckin' life it was." He replied gruffly and quietly so no-one could hear him complain. The barmaid's eyes widened with curiosity, sailing for the King certainly sounded interesting. Ingvarr took another long drink from his tankard.

"Where did you go?" She asked. Ingvarr sighed and pushed his empty tankard towards her.

"Where the shittin' hell you think I been?" He replied in a hushed whisper. She frowned. "Bloody Arendelle that's where." He added. She pushed the tankard back across the bar, refilled with amber liquid.

"Again?" She sighed, rolling her eyes. The blonde girl took another tankard and began cleaning it with her rag. "Ain't you already been there a couple months ago?"

"I been there a thousand fuckin' times, the King is still set on killing their Queen isn't he. So, course I have to be the one to lead the ships back and forth. Only last time we went, those idiots went an got 'emselves all killed. He wasn't too pleased about that, I can tell you." He grumbled then downed the remainder of his drink.

"So why's he keep makin' you go back? Surely there isn't any use in it." Enquired the blonde waving her rag as she shrugged her shoulders.

"He thinks we're gonna find some secret passage into Arendelle, said somethin' about the Gods opening up the way to us so that he can finally slay the witch Queen like he's sposed to." He said, his quiet voice barely audible above the din of the bar. They shared a look. The way her eyes widened, her eyebrows raised and her face contorted, he could tell she thought just the same as he did, their King was fucking crazy.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you liked that guys. I gave you a little insight into how Anna is feeling about this whole situation with Elsa, albeit it only a few lines. But I'll explore that in future chapters. Reviews and feedback any are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading, hope you liked it.**

 **Also, I have posted example images of Tomas, Gabriel and Finn on my DeviantArt page (in case you wanted to see how they looked in my head). Tomas' image is a Photoshop edited version of a David Giuntoli photograph. Gabriel's is a Photoshop edited version of a model, I was unable to find his name. And Finn's is a Photoshop edited version of an Alex Pettyfer photograph. My username is the same as it is for FanFiction.**

 **\- Fly :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Hey there guys, I know it's been a little while, hoping it wasn't too long a wait. Also hoping you had a Merry Christmas and wishing you all a Happy New Year. Here's to 2018 being a good one.**

 **Also, I would like to thank my recent reviewers for their delightful feedback.**

 **Otherwise Uncolonised, thank you very much for your in-depth review, the fact you put such time and effort into forming a review is very much appreciated and I hope you do enjoy the rest of this fic.**

 **MisguidedCorgi: Thank you very much for your reviews, hope you continue to enjoy my fic, I am eagerly awaiting an update of your own.**

* * *

Breakfast was deadly silent the next morning. Anna glared across the table at the foreign prince. She watched him, boring holes into his stupid face. Who did he think he was, waltzing in here like some sort of hero, ready to take advantage of a terribly bad situation, jerk. Anna scrutinised every last detail about his face but was drawn back to one thing; his light green eyes, avoiding her own, the fact he was to cowardly to even meet her eyes made Anna feel slightly better. A little smirk grew on her lips.

Elsa wasn't there, more than likely in her room or her study, avoiding conversation about this whole situation. Anna rolled her eyes, she really just wished her sister would talk to her about things, that way no-one would be upset about anything. They could have discussed it and agreed that this was indeed the best choice for Arendelle. Anna wasn't denying it, that child needed a father. But how hard was to have discussed it with her or at least told her? Maybe they could have found a solution together, discussed it like civilised people rather than arguing until it ended in tears. The princess sighed and shook her head. The prince briefly looked up and met her eye before quickly averting his gaze.

Kristoff was sat next to Anna, half hoping, half praying that his _pregnant_ wife didn't leap across the table at this prince and give him what for. Anna had explained last light that she and Elsa had had a falling out over this guy. When he proceeded to ask her why, the foul words that spilled from the princess' mouth were a shock to even his ears, she used every curse word under the sun to describe this prince. She began ranting about how disgusting he was taking advantage of her sister and what a bastard he was because Elsa didn't have any other choice but to accept his father's offer and how he was most likely 'just one of those jerks that feels entitled to a woman because his father had signed a piece of bloody paper.' It was fair to say he wasn't quite expecting Anna to go off like that. It reminded him why he called her 'Feisty Pants' and he couldn't help but smile at his plate.

Gabe felt Anna's piercing stare watching him as he ate. He felt slightly better having Finn at his side, but still uncomfortable. He daren't look up at the princess for fear of starting an argument. He knew she was upset and most of her anger was directed towards him but if she wanted an argument she would find one if she only pushed hard enough. Naturally, he would be polite to an extent but he had heard of the princess' brash tongue, certainly not one befitting someone of her position and he wouldn't hesitate to defend himself if she decided she'd give him a lashing. But as the older, not pregnant and less hormonal party, he decided it was to be his responsibility to avoid an argument that would likely end up ruining this whole thing.

* * *

Elsa wasn't hiding in her room truth be told. She was in a meeting with her councillors, all very eager to hear her opinion of this prince. She was sat at the head of the long table, all eyes on her, each one of them desperate for good news. She felt them staring intently at her, she wanted to tell them all that she had sent him home with his tail between his legs, see how they reacted to that but she thought better of it. Elsa didn't need any more arguments if she could avoid them.

"Your Majesty, we were all curious as to whether you had discussed business with the Urvean prince." Brekke began, voicing the thought they all shared.

"We have." Elsa began, noticing the way they all drew forward in their seats, waiting with baited breath and wide eyes. "Prince Gabriel told me that his father was very pleased to hear from you. I told him if his father betrays Arendelle I would not hesitate to react." Elsa could feel the thickness of the silence weighing down on her as it filled the room and heard the unanimous gasp that perforated it.

"You threatened him?" Sivertsen asked eventually, incredulously, Elsa frowned. He seemed almost pleased and, considering he was the only one who had grown to think this was a bad idea, he may well have been. Maybe he thought if Elsa scared Gabriel off then they would have to abandon this idea and her 'bastard' child would have no claim to the throne after all. She almost rolled her eyes at the odious old man. There were many other princes they could coerce into wedding her and she was damn sure they would try.

"It was not a threat. I simply told him to remind his father of who he was dealing with. If the King of Urvea decided he were going to speak of our arrangement, I want him to know the consequences of such a betrayal of our trust." Elsa replied, the council hanging onto her every word, listening with baited breath.

"What did he say, ma'am?" Henning asked.

"He said he would notify his father as soon as possible of my warning."

"Did you discuss the arrangement with him?" Brekke sought, her brows raised.

"I did. I said I needed to discuss it further with my council."

"We have already discussed it ma'am, why would we need to talk further on the matter?" Henning replied, frowning slightly, perplexed as to why she would delay things any further.

"I know this is my only choice but I do not believe it wise to make the prince or his father privy to such information. If the king knew, he would surely take Arendelle for everything he could, I thought it better I let the prince assume I had other...options, so to speak"

"Of course ma'am." He said, nodding as his confusion waned. Sivertsen nudged Torvik and whispered something in his ear to which the younger advisor frowned.

"Something you wish to share Sivertsen?" Elsa asked, raising a stern brow at the wiry man. His face paled and he pursed his lips before replying.

"Will you be accepting the King's offer?" Sivertsen asked, his wide old eyes seeming hopeful that she would say no.

"As I said, this is my only choice, I must accept." She was the very image of stoicism. There was a long pause as they all allowed her words to sink in. There was no other choice, this was it.

"This is what's best your Majesty." Valen was the first to reply. Elsa met her eye, she seemed certain. Elsa could only hope that it was.

"Should we contact the King, ma'am?"Brekke asked. Elsa shook her head slowly.

"I will send the letter myself, I think it best you all abstain from sending them on my behalf." The councillors all looked at one another awkwardly, it seems she hadn't quite forgiven them for that.

* * *

"Princess Anna." Came a voice and light knock at her door. Anna huffed and lifted herself from her bed. She dragged herself to the door and unceremoniously yanked it open.

"Hello?!" She groaned. Kai stood before her his hand raised to knock once more.

"Oh, your Highness, good afternoon." He began, unsure as to how to approach this. "Queen Elsa wishes that you and Prince Kristoff give our guest a tour of Arendelle in her absence." Anna's brows furrowed and her cheeks glowed.

"Wait...what? She wants me to take that bast-"

"-Ma'am, please mind your tongue. It is not befitting of a young woman such as yourself to use such coarse language." Anna harrumphed and almost rolled her eyes, she knew her colourful vocabulary had never pleased Kai. What did he expect, letting her hang out with the guards at twelve years old.

"She wants me to take him out into Arendelle? Me? Why can't she do it herself, she's just holed up in her room? Does she think I have nothing better to do but show his ugly face around our Kingdom?" Anna asked incredulously, flapping her hands and arms about animatedly. Kai almost chuckled at the young lady. Elsa had informed him of Anna's rather _unsavoury_ opinion of the prince.

"Actually ma'am, Queen Elsa is not as you say 'holed up in her room', she is in a meeting with her advisors until later this afternoon. Her Majesty has asked that you use this as an opportunity to get to know Prince Gabriel. Perhaps she thinks you might uncover something of interest...if there is anything to find." He replied, raising a suggestive eyebrow at the princess. Anna looked at the butler, narrowed her eyes.

"So she wants me to snoop on him...like get to know him, what he's like, see if he's hiding something, all that?"

"Business is business and one cannot proceed with business until one knows who they are doing business with, that would be rather unwise, would it not ma'am?" Kai said allowing a small smile. "And who better than the queen's right-hand to carry out this vital task in her absence?" Anna smiled at him.

"Right. I'll do it. I just need to get changed...I'll be ten minutes, could you have his Highness meet me downstairs and Kristoff please- if you can find him?" Anna replied, stepping back into her room.

"Of course, ma'am."

Kai set off to inform the Urvean prince of his impromptu tour of Arendelle and to find Arendelle's unorthodox prince.

* * *

Gabe looked at this portly butler standing at his door, thinning red hair and brown eyes.

"I'm confused, Queen Elsa didn't mention anything about this..." He said eyes narrowing slightly. He wasn't sure that spending time with the feisty princess was entirely wise, he was sure that the queen would side with her sister should they come to a disagreement and he didn't want to endanger their potential relationship.

"It was arranged in light of last night's rather difficult encounter with the princess. Queen Elsa believes that, given the chance to speak with you on her own terms, Princess Anna will begin to warm to the idea of this agreement, your Highness." The butler replied. Gabe nodded slowly.

"Okay. Will it be just the princess and I?" The sandy blonde asked. Kai gave a brief smile and shook his head.

"Of course your personal guard may accompany you if you would feel more comfortable that way, sir, and Prince Kristoff will be joining Princess Anna." Kai answered, sensing the Urvean's growing anxiety.

"Alright, thank you...sir." Gabe muttered. Kai bowed his head politely.

"The princess asked that you meet her downstairs in ten minutes, sir."

"Yes, of course."

* * *

"Have you had a chance to form an opinion on Prince Gabriel, ma'am?" Valen asked looking expectantly at her monarch.

"I spoke briefly with him last night. He seems respectable. I've sent Princess Anna out with him this afternoon to show him around Arendelle. Hopefully, she will bring me further news of his character."

"Is it such a good idea sending him out with the princess, from what we heard, her review of him is less than glowing?" Torvik asked, his dark face wrinkled with confusion.

"I have every confidence that the princess will enjoy her time with Prince Gabriel. Prince Kristoff will be with her, he knows how...enthusiastic she can get, he's sure to keep an eye on the situation." She noted how Sivertsen cringed at the use of Kristoff's title, his nostrils flared. He had been opposed to that as well at the time. Elsa remembered him blathering on about how it was disrespectful to grant a lowly commoner such a profound title. She had taken great pleasure in reminding the old coot that Kristoff's rank, as Ice _Master_ ,was equal to his own. That had quickly shut him up.

* * *

"Prince Gabriel, how lovely to see you." Anna beamed full of fake enthusiasm. Kristoff nudged her in the ribs.

"Dial it down." He uttered. Anna smiled at the prince before her, at the foot of the stairs, his personal guard stood beside him. He looked around with an aloof awareness, seemingly immune to the political awkwardness of this situation.

"Princess Anna, how lovely to see you too, I hope this meeting to be more of a success than our last. I realise now how it must have stressed you to learn of such an arrangement between your queen and my father."

"Yes... I was just- I spoke with my sister, everything is fine." She lied, she wouldn't dare apologise though, she didn't yet know if he actually deserved her suspicion and harsh words.

"That is nice...it would be wonderful to get to know you, hopefully we can come to see eye to eye." The prince enthused. "And Prince Kristoff, it is lovely to be able to know you better as well." He replied, offering his hand to the taller man. Kristoff took it and shook it firmly, his own suspicion of the foreign prince not having yet been dispelled.

"You too, Prince Gabriel." Was his gruff attempt at a polite response.

Anna had taken to walking in front, acting as a guide on their tour of Arendelle.

* * *

"So you've seen the stables, the castle grounds... but I thought you might like to wander the Kingdom, get to know Arendelle a little bit better..." She said, speaking more to the air than the prince behind her.

"Arendelle is really quite beautiful." He replied, gazing absently over the clear blue fjord. Reflecting the golden, early afternoon sun and rippling gently in the breeze, the fjord was indeed a sight to behold. Anna raised an eyebrow.

"What's it like back home?" She asked, realising her mistake as soon as she made it. Gabe cast her a sceptical look. Anna cringed.

"You have seen Urvea, do you not remember?" He asked with a slight smile. Anna shrugged it off, waving a dismissive hand in his direction. The prince raised a brow at the copper-haired woman.

"Well, you know, I've seen so many Kingdoms...it's just...so hard to keep track of them all." She said awkwardly. Gabe smiled at her.

"You don't remember." He chuckled. "I can't say I blame you. Urvea is undoubtedly one of the most boring places I have ever seen, but unfortunately I cannot escape it as you have. The mountains and the skies are grey. Hardly anything or anyone happens by our Kingdom. It used to be that we had some of the most beautiful forestry within miles but the storms have taken their toll. Now our forests are sparse, hardly anything to write home about, acres upon acres of ashes."

"I remember the forests, the one behind the castle. It _was_ quite lovely, the storm must have struck shortly after we left...unfortunate." Anna said, feigning interest. Gabriel noticed her indifference but decided against commenting, she was trying after all and that was an improvement in itself.

"I believe my father has made arrangements with Queen Elsa for trade to commence between our Kingdoms, hopefully we can come to an agreement." The prince continued. The corner of Anna's lip twitched at the mention of trade agreements between their Kingdoms. Agreements were the way in which Elsa had traded her integrity for the hope of retaining her dignity, which Anna believed she had never lost. Her sister was the victim of a heinous crime, she should be comforted and respected for having survived such a horrific ordeal but instead she was forced to hide behind this man in an attempt to spare her family and Kingdom the 'embarrassment' of another man's disgusting actions.

"How do you feel about the agreement?" Anna asked, Gabe turned his head, clearly confused as to the purpose of her question.

"It's timber, your Highness, every Kingdom needs timber-" He began. Anna shook her head.

"-No I mean this other agreement with my sister." She whispered. Gabriel's eyes widened.

"Oh, well I...I don't know-"

"Does it please you?" Anna asked, brows pulled together, his lips pursed. She was sure that he would be pleased, as would his father. Urvea would make a powerful ally in Arendelle, they were considerably smaller than Urvea but Elsa was a force to be reckoned with and they knew that. Not to mention that the prince would bag himself a gorgeous wife in the process.

"No. I mean... yes but not in the way you're implying. I have every respect for your sister, princess. An ordeal such as this is stressful, no doubt... I-I just hope this arrangement might help ease the strain of the situation. I would be glad to help in any way I can. Trust me princess, I have no reason to act maliciously toward your sister; I am here to do as I am told." He replied hushedly. Anna nodded, still seemingly unsure.

They continued to walk, the townspeople passing them by, each offering a wave to their beloved princess and prince. Anna smiled and waved back enthusiastically. Kristoff grinned, still unsure how to take all this attention.

"Princess Anna, how wonderful to see you." Came the voice of a woman a little older than herself. She knew her of course, she knew a lot of the townspeople from her many walks and wanderings through town when she found her legs restless and her brain bored.

"It's so nice to be out and see everyone too." Anna replied. Anna and the woman began to talk, leaving Kristoff and Gabriel to their own company. The burly mountain man glanced awkwardly at the prince beside him, despite the fact they shared a title, Kristoff didn't really know what else he had in common with this guy, much less what to make small talk about. Thankfully the prince made that decision for him.

"So, Prince Kristoff-"

"-Just Kristoff...please." He cut in.

"Of course, Kristoff. Do you enjoy it here in Arendelle?" Gabe asked, curiosity lacing his voice.

"Yeah, I do. I've lived here my whole life, my family are here." He answered, unsure of how he could elaborate.

"What's your relationship like with the queen, Kristoff, you must get on fairly well considering you've wed her sister..."

"Uh, Els- Queen Elsa is nice. I think we get on well, her thing with the ice- I love ice, ice is my life." Kristoff replied. Gabriel nodded, curious to learn more of the queen to which he might be wed.

"I haven't seen her ice as of yet. Though I have heard it is quite impressive, beautiful even." He replied with a smile. Kristoff gave a silent nod, not really sure what he was supposed to say. Luckily the pair were interrupted by the woman conversing with the princess.

"And who would this be, your Highness?" Anna glanced between Gabe and the young woman.

"Um, he's visiting from another Kingdom, he's come to see Queen Elsa." The princess replied nervously. The woman's eyes widened with curiosity.

"A trade agreement, my father wishes to talk trade with Queen Elsa." Gabe added quickly. He and Anna shared a discreet, awkward glance.

"Oh, well I bid you a good day Princess Anna, Prince Kristoff..." She looked up at Gabriel, having realised she was unaware of his name.

"Prince Gabriel, ma'am."

"Good day, Prince Gabriel." With that she carried on her way. The three royals shared a looked, each silently glad that she hadn't asked anymore questions.

Throughout their walk Gabriel watched as many more townsfolk stopped to talk to Anna and Kristoff, Anna being much better at it than her burly, awkward husband. Many of them stopped to ask the princess about the baby: if she knew whether it was a boy or a girl, what she might name it, how she was getting on, all trivial concerns. A few spoke to Gabe directly and asked him if he was enjoying his time in Arendelle. Arendelle was a lovely Kingdom despite him not having seen much of it yet.

"I hope you are enjoying your stay here, your Highness." An older woman said with greying brown hair and blue eyes. He smiled and replied:

"Very much, Queen Elsa has been very accommodating."

"Queen Elsa is very kind, she is good to us, very kind." He had been hearing that a lot when Elsa's name was mentioned, how kind she was and how she was good for Arendelle, her people didn't seem to hold the slightest contempt for the young ruler that had almost killed them all not so long ago.

"She is a remarkable ruler, so I have heard." Gabe added. The remainder of his tour was filled with similar such comments about their queen and he found himself quickly forgetting the rumours he head heard of a terrible tyrant witch.

* * *

Elsa was sat at her desk a letter in hand. She studied the parchment in front of her- the door to her study swung open and, before she could turn to glare at whoever it was that entered without knocking, Anna began talking.

"I'm back. Took your prince on a tour of the Kingdom. He seemed to enjoy it. Talked to the townsfolk." She said, closing the door behind her and stepping closer to Elsa. Their eyes met, Elsa looked away.

"Thank you. Did you talk with him?" She asked, turning back to the parchment at her desk. Anna snorted and walked behind Elsa's chair, placing her hands on the headrest.

"Yeah... I know you sent me out with him so I'd start to like him and that it wasn't to unearth anything about his father's plans. You must have known he wouldn't even talk about such things with me" Anna said tapping her fingers on the chair. Elsa didn't even turn around.

"I did no such thing. I needed someone to talk to him, other than myself, to see if he elaborated on his father's plans." Anna raised a brow at the back of her sister's head, she was a good liar.

"He mentioned it. Said he was just doing as he was told and that he had respect for you... he wants to help ease your stress and all that, he sounded quite convincing but-"

"-you still despise him." Elsa finished. There was the evidence Anna needed, Elsa did want her to like him after all. Her concern for their relationship told the princess that Elsa planned on making him a much more permanent part of their lives.

"I wouldn't go that far. I'd say it's a healthy dislike. I still don't trust him as far as I could throw him."

"Well unfortunately, I have no choice but to trust him, despite how far I could or couldn't throw him." Elsa reminded her sadly. Anna frowned, she hated hearing her sister say that, as if she were doomed or something.

"Of course you do..." Anna began hopelessly. Elsa stood abruptly, seemingly deep in thought before lifting her hands to her hair and entangling them in her snowy blonde locks.

"Enlighten me. Where are my options?" Elsa asked with a raised brow, pulling her hands through her hair frustratedly and down her face. Her hands settled on her hips, brows raised expectantly like a child waiting for their parent to tell them everything would be okay. Anna looked at her sister sadly. She wanted to say something amazing, something fantastic- a game-changer! But nothing came to mind. Anna wanted to hope against hope that there was something she could do for her sister but ultimately there was nothing. Nothing at all. And that hurt Anna, made her feel helpless and depressed. She was supposed to be there for her and help her but she couldn't, this saddened the princess beyond words.

"I don't know, we can think of something, we just need time to-" She began. Elsa frowned at her copper haired sister.

"-Time is something I have little of, Anna. I'm at least two and a half months pregnant with his child. What do you suggest I do? I have no choice but to marry now and worry later." Elsa replied waving a hand at the almost unnoticeable swell of her stomach. "If I don't our family, you mother, father, the kingdom will be shamed- ruined. I won't be responsible for that."

"You can't just marry some stranger, Gods, take your own advice." Anna tried, holding her hands out as if it should be obvious. Elsa shook her head and a wry laugh escaped her thin lips. Anna knew that was a poor argument as soon as she had said it.

"Those were completely different circumstances. Desperate times call for desperate measures." Anna hated that. The way she called herself desperate, it was saddening to hear and the defeated look on her face was almost heartbreaking.

"Right." Anna began, running a hand through her hair, sighing. "I guess I have to accept... there's no other way, is there?" Elsa met her eyes, her confident, older sister facade cracked. Icy blues welled up with tears. Anna stepped forward and pulled the blonde into a tight hug, her large stomach touching the smaller swell of her sister's. "Elsa, don't cry...please." Anna's heart shattered at the quiet sobs that were muffled into her neck. She rubbed circles on her back, holding her, letting her cry. "Don't cry..." She tried again, squeezing her sister tighter, childishly wishing she could hug the sadness away.

After almost five minutes of just holding her, the sobs subsided and with one final sniff and a shaky breath Elsa pulled away and wrapped her arms around herself. Anna found herself staring into her bloodshot eyes glistening with the remains of her tears. Elsa looked away.

"I'm- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Elsa began softly, her voice cracking. Anna shook her head.

"Don't be sorry. I can't imagine how hard this is... Can you just talk to me next time? I don't want you to face this on your own, I'm here for you, always. What happened last night... I didn't mean to shout but I- I was scared. I was worried that you were trying to fix this on your own and that you felt like you had some sort of responsibility to make everything better all by yourself. It's not fair to put that kind of pressure on yourself; I'm here for you."

"It is my responsibility to fix this." Elsa almost winced at the withering look her sister gave her. "I'm not saying it was my fault." Anna's glare softened. " _I_ need to fix this, no-one else will." Anna felt her stomach sink, she wanted desperately to help but what could she do, she couldn't wish the baby away or her sister's pain to cease. The best she could give was a shoulder to cry on when the weight of it all became too much to bear.

Anna took Elsa by the hand and led her over to the dark red divan across the room. Anna patted the space beside her and Elsa lowered herself into the seat beside her sister and continued to hold her hand.

"Tell me how you feel, what's in your head?" She asked. Elsa gave a bitter snort, refusing to meet her eyes.

"You don't want to know what's in my head. It's just a mess." She replied dryly.

"How do you feel? Please just talk to me." Anna insisted, taking no notice of her sister's self-deprecating humour. She gently squeezed her hand and watched as she struggled to find the words. Anna knew it was hard, Elsa was a woman of words and for her to lose them showed her how deeply this depression was affecting her.

"I feel...trapped..." She said quietly, twirling a thread from the divan cushion between her slender pale fingers.

"Elsa..." The young monarch looked up to meet teal blue eyes, sad, teal eyes.

"Don't worry. I'm fixing it."

"But you won't be happy. Not like this..." Anna said rubbing her thumb over Elsa's ghostly white knuckles.

"Remember? I told you I would be happy as long as you were. Nothing would please me more than to see you happy." Anna knew there was no arguing, despite the fact she knew it was a lie, she would have to accept her sister's words. "Thank you for your concern but you're really all I need to be happy. You're all I wanted for so long, now I have you, what more is there to want?" Anna was convinced Elsa was just telling herself this to block out the utter grief in her heart.

Anna sat back on the divan, Elsa beside her, laying her head across her chest. Anna lifted her arm and put it around her sister then pulled her single braid loose and combed her fingers through platinum blonde tresses. She felt Elsa's quiet hum reverberate through her chest. They sat there for goodness knows how long, Anna stroking her sister's hair. There was no clock in this study room. Likely, so Elsa could work through all hours of the night with a valid excuse.

Eventually Anna decided to break the silence, her words gentle and quiet.

"Can I ask you something?" Cerulean eyes peered up at her, rather void of emotion. Anna swallowed thickly before continuing. "Did it make you feel any better, sentencing Tomas, I mean?" Anna wasn't really sure what kind of response she expected to such a question, whether it be angry or upset.

The blonde shifted beside her. Anna wondered for a moment if she had taken a step too far.

"Do you remember when you used come to me sometimes and just break down in tears? About Hans? You asked if I thought you were stupid. I said you most certainly were not. I remember you would ask if you deserved what he did to you, which of course you didn't. Hans' actions were and still are inexcusable." Anna remembered very well indeed. The nights where she would cry for hours in her sister's arms because she felt worthless and stupid, many hours spent wondering if it was all her fault, if she really deserved Kristoff- if she should trust Kristoff.

"Yeah, I remember. You always made me feel better." She replied simply, running a hand gently through platinum blonde tresses.

"You said punching him made you feel a little bit better." Elsa continued. Anna chuckled at the memory. "But you said it didn't last long. I wanted to punish Tomas. I wanted him to realise what he had done, to suffer for it. And... and I'm rather ashamed to admit that I was relieved when I killed him, almost happy that he was gone. I thought that would be it, that I could start healing but he still _haunts_ me. I _did_ feel better, for a little while. Just like you said. But, despite him being gone, the consequences of his actions continued to make me miserable."

"Elsa, just like you were there when Hans hurt me, _I'm_ here for _you_. Whatever you need, I'm here."

* * *

Gabriel sat at the large oak desk in his room drumming his fingers over its smooth surface with a quill in his right hand and a pot of ink and parchment before him. He pondered his words. He didn't quite know how to phrase what he was going to say, his father was a temperamental man at best. He glanced around the room, trying to entice thoughts into his head, biting his lip, he began to roll the quill between his thumb and forefinger. Then gazing determinedly down at the parchment he dipped his quill in the pot of ink.

 _Dear King Halvard Bjornvik of Urvea,_

 _I am writing to you to inform you of my arrival in Arendelle. I will spare you the details of my journey as I am sure you will want to get straight to business. I have spoken with Queen Elsa about your agreement. I have no definite news as of yet whether or not she is willing to accept but things are looking promising, I believe I have made a good impression and that I have represented your Kingdom well. Though, there is one thing, I hope that you will consider who this woman is, she is very dangerous indeed. I advise that you keep her on your side, for the sake of this deal and our Kingdom, she warned that betrayal would result in action being taken against you. Queen Elsa asked me to ensure you did not read this as a threat, she would simply like to confirm your loyalty should she allow me to take her hand._

 _Having spoken with Queen Elsa, I believe I can advise you in further negotiation of this deal. She is a strong ruler and her subjects adore her, they sing her praises. And despite threats from the Southern Isles she has maintained a calmness across the Kingdom. I advise that you tread carefully, her abilities are dangerous but I truly believe she would do no harm to you or Urvea unless she is given sufficient reason to do so, she is known throughout Arendelle for her kindness. I hope that you take my words into consideration as they could be critical in proceeding with this delicate situation._

 _Also, I would advise against painting your future letters with false sympathy, her Majesty is not some dim-witted blonde beauty, she can see through your fake words and I believe continuing in this way may just arouse her ire rather than gain her favour._

 _Regards, your son, Prince Gabriel Bjornvik of Urvea_

He read his words over and over, scrutinizing every last one. He was happy with what he had written. He folded the parchment and placed it in an envelope then scribed his Fathers name and title across it. He would have to give it to Elsa to send with the Royal Arendellian wax seal.

* * *

Kristoff sat beside his furry companion in the stables, stroking his fur softly.

"You alright buddy?" The blond asked as the reindeer nudged him with his nose. Sven gave him a look that just said 'really?'

"Are _you_ alright?" Sven replied, stretching out lazily next to his friend. Kristoff frowned.

"What? 'Course I'm okay, I'm good." Sven nudged his ice man with a hoove.

"Knock it off, I know there something going on." Came the silly voice once more.

"Alright. I'm just a little nervous about the baby. Anna's okay, great even. But all this going on with Elsa and the Southern Isles...it's stressful buddy. I can't help but worry about her a little, you know. The king of the Southern Isles isn't easing my concern either, he's a lunatic. I really hope he doesn't come back, if he does... well I just hope Elsa can take care of him." Sven nudged him once more with his antlers as if to say he was worrying about nothing, even if the crackpot king of the Southern Isles did show his face in Arendelle Elsa would surely be able to take him. Kristoff knew a lot of people thought him mad for conversing with a reindeer, well actually with himself, but Sven was his oldest ad most loyal friend and he had helped him through many tough spots in his life. He knew he could trust his furry companion with his life. Kristoff gently stroked the reindeer's neck. Sven cast him a reassuring look. "Thanks bud."

* * *

Ulrich entered into his throne room, a sour look upon his face. Thinning auburn hair and a pallor complexion, the king looked old, certainly older than he was. His obsession with the queen of Arendelle was likely the cause, he had spent many a night up late reading books and journals on witches and magic. Before him stood Ingvarr, his naval captain. As he observed his king he felt anxiety stir in his chest.

"What is it Ingvarr, do you have news from Arendelle?" Ulrich asked impatiently, settling into his throne.

"Yes, your Majesty. Upon our most recent trip to Arendelle I discovered an unguarded passage in the mountains." Ingvarr said, his hands clasped behind his back. Ulrich's brows raised.

"Lovely. How soon can we set sail?" The King said, standing from his throne, eagerness and bloodlust shining in his hazel eyes. Ingvarr winced.

"Sir, the passage is extremely narrow. We couldn't sail through without very small boats, the rocks would undoubtedly tear the larger boats to pieces. We wouldn't make it."

"So why are you telling me Ingvarr?!" Ulrich seethed, his fists clenched.

"If you could commission several more boats to be constructed, albeit very _narrow_ boats, we _could_ sail through, Sir."

"That could take months." Ulrich muttered just loud enough for his Captain to hear. Ingvarr nodded, unsure of what he should say. "I will commission the boats to be constructed, you will help the Royal shipwright, tell him how narrow they would have to be."

"Of course, Sir."

"Tell me... _How_ narrow must they be?" The King queried. Ingvarr thought for a moment, he wasn't exactly sure but their smallest boat could only sail halfway down the passage before they had to come back.

"Even smaller than our smallest boats, at least." He replied. "To get sufficient men into Arendelle you would need to commission many."

"What are you standing here for then? Go!" Ulrich yelled.

* * *

 **A/N: So, hope you enjoyed that guys. I hope you're enjoying the story so far, bet you're wondering if Ulrich will be successful in his plot to overtake Arendelle...**

 **I would have posted this on New Years Eve but apparently I would rather desecrate Don McLean's American Pie with my mother on the karaoke ( quite sure I sounded like a dead horse).**

 **I would really appreciate any and all opinions of this fic, have you guys got any ideas? Is there something you think would fit well into the plot that I might explore? Opinions and criticisms are all welcome. Also don't forget to favourite ( if you like it, which I'm guessing you do if you've made it this far) and follow for more updates.**

 **\- Fly :3**


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